1. Walking helps manage your weight and prevents type 2 diabetes. Combined with healthy
eating, physical activity is key to any plan for long-lasting weight control. Keeping your weight within healthy limits can
lower your risks of type 2 diabetes, among other illnesses discussed below. The Diabetes Prevention Program showed that walking
150 minutes per week and losing just 7% of your body weight (12-15 pounds) can reduce your risk of diabetes by 58%.
2. Walking decreases your risk of heart attack. Exercise such as brisk walking for three hours a
week — or just half an hour a day — is associated with a 30% to 40% lower risk of heart disease in women. (Based
on the 20-year Nurses' Health Study of 72,000 female nurses.) In one study, mortality rates among retired men who walked
less than one mile per day were nearly twice that among those who walked more than two miles per day.
3.
Boosts "good" cholesterol – the level of high-density lipoproteins (HDL). Physical activity helps
reduce low-density lipoproteins (LDL or "bad" cholesterol) in the blood, which can cause plaque buildup along the
artery walls — a major cause of heart attacks.
4. Lowers your risk of stroke.
Regular, moderate exercise equivalent to brisk walking for an hour a day, five days a week, can cut the risk of stroke in
half, according to a Harvard study of more than 11,000 men.
5. Avoids your need for gallstone
surgery. Regular walking or other physical activity lowers the risk of needing gallstone surgery by 20% to 31%, found
a Harvard study of more than 60,000 women ages 40 to 65.
6. Walking is good for your brain.
In a study on walking and cognitive function, researchers found that women who walked the equivalent of an easy pace at least
1.5 hours per week had significantly better cognitive function and less cognitive decline than women who walked less than
40 minutes per week. Think about that!
7. Walking is good for your bones. Research shows that
postmenopausal women who walk approximately one mile each day have higher whole-body bone density than women who walk shorter
distances, and walking is also effective in slowing the rate of bone loss from the legs. Consistent activity diminishes the
risk of hip fracture, concludes a study of more than 30,000 men and women ages 20 to 93.
8. Walking helps
alleviate symptoms of depression. Walking for 30 minutes, three to five times per week for 12 weeks reduced symptoms
of depression as measured with a standard depression questionnaire by 47%.
9. Walking reduces the risk
of breast and colon cancer. Women who performed the equivalent of one hour and 15 minutes to two and a half hours
per week of brisk walking had an 18% decreased risk of breast cancer compared with inactive women. Many studies have shown
that exercise can prevent colon cancer, and even if an individual person develops colon cancer, the benefits of exercise appear
to continue both by increasing quality of life and reducing mortality.
10. Walking improves fitness.
Walking just three times a week for 30 minutes can significantly increase cardiorespiratory fitness.
Ok, I hear
you. You're now convinced about the benefits of walking but not so sure about fitting three times a week for 30 minutes
into your life. Well here's one more point for you to chew on:
* Walking in short bouts improves
fitness, too! A study of sedentary women showed that short bouts of brisk walking (three 10-minute walks per
day) resulted in similar improvements in fitness and were at least as effective in decreasing body fatness as long bouts (one
30-minute walk per day).
So, there you have it. We hope you enjoy walking! Why not start
today?
If you live in the St. Louis metropolitan area, click here for the most compelling
reason of all to start walking...
