I enjoy walking my two little dogs around the neighborhood or to some of my favorite local parks and places. If I’m not listening to a podcast or music or chatting with a neighbor, I’m basking in the nature around me. The good news is that walking provides a range of proven health benefits, including promoting weight loss, body fat loss, and aerobic fitness, and reducing your risk of heart disease.
Interesting research reveals that for every 2,000 steps you walk, your risk of heart disease and cancer decreases by 10%, peaking at 10,000 daily steps. Walking and moving your muscles is natural and beneficial, and researchers also wanted to know how many minutes of walking per week would lower certain health risks. Let’s look at the research.
The review
In a recent review published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, researchers explored large-scale studies involving the effects of physical activity on older adults. The researchers were especially interested in how brisk walking and physical activity impacted quality of life.
The results
The researchers concluded that regular physical activity lowers the risk of over 30 chronic conditions, such as depression, dementia, diabetes, osteoporosis, and heart disease.
Getting in 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity exercise, such as brisk walking, can lower your risk of mortality by 31%.
Concluding thoughts
If you’re picking up the pace on that stroll, you could be well on your way to lowering your chances of developing these chronic conditions and improving your wellness and aerobic fitness. You don’t have to power through an hour or more of weightlifting and cardio until you’re in a pool of sweat to get the benefits.
Putting one foot in front of the other can lower stress and anxiety and improve mental health. Additional research also supports this study, concluding that 150 minutes of weekly moderate-intensity exercise like brisk walking provides several health benefits. Most people split those 150 minutes of weekly moderate-intensity exercise up into shorter workout sessions or walks. However you fit it into your schedule, it’s up to you, but you should certainly be proud that you’re making the effort and getting the benefits. Research also shows that regardless of how those 150 minutes are spread out, you’ll still experience a reduced risk of illnesses, no matter if you’re a weekend warrior or you like to take more bite-sized pieces throughout the week.
