Surprising ways walking improves your health
The importance of being physically active is something we talk about all the time — because it isn’t something that many have figured out how to fit into their lives. Less than 5% of American adults get 30 minutes of physical activity daily.
That’s a shame, because a new study found that almost 4 million lives are saved globally every year because of physical activity! Just think of what the number could be if the percentage of American adults walking 10,000 steps a day was 85%, not 5%!
Walking at a moderate/ intense pace will bring you immediate joy (all those feelgood endorphins get released) and long-term good health. Study after study shows that exercise is a warrior against a host of chronic conditions, from cancer and diabetes to headaches and digestive woes. Did you know that you could walk away from these five problems too?
1. Adopting a daily walking routine eases depression because it stimulates release of proteins that cause the growth of nerve cells and new nerve cell connections in your brain. According to Harvard Medical School professor Dr. Michael Craig Miller: “In people who are depressed, neuroscientists have noticed that the hippocampus in the brain — the region that helps regulate mood — is smaller. Exercise supports nerve cell growth in the hippocampus, improving nerve cell connections, which helps relieve depression.”
2. Walking five to six miles a week can help prevent arthritis, and once it develops, regular walking helps strengthen muscles that support the joints, taking pressure off them. It also boosts the circulation of synovial fluid, which helps lubricate the joints and stimulates the breakdown and removal of damaged cells.
3. You can walk away from the flu and other infections. One study in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that men and women who did aerobic activity (like interval walking) at least 20 minutes a day, at least five days a week had 43% fewer sick days than those who exercised once a week or less. And if they did get sick, it was for a shorter duration and their symptoms were milder.
4. Walking turns off weight-gaining genes! Researchers at the Department of Nutrition at Harvard School of Public Health reported that walking briskly for about 60 minutes daily reduced the obesity-promoting effect of 32 different genes by 50%!
5. Walking seven or more hours a week reduces breast cancer risk by 14% compared with women who walked three or fewer hours weekly, according to an American Cancer Society study.
We hope this inspires you to get walking indoors on a treadmill or outdoors (wearing a mask, if not isolated). Here’s how to get started:
— Set realistic goals so you don’t get discouraged or injure yourself. Establish your baseline: How far can you comfortably walk in 10 minutes? 20 minutes? 30 minutes? Test what’s best.
— Start out aiming to walk your baseline time/distance four to five days a week. Down the road you want to walk five to seven days weekly.
— Once you know how long you can walk for, build on that. After the first week, add another 3-5 minutes or more walking time daily; if you were doing 20 minutes a day, go for 25 a day. Stick with that for two weeks. Then add another five minutes, so you’re doing 30 minutes a day. Keep building up time until you hit 60 minutes per walk.
— You can also increase intensity by walking fast for two minutes, more slowly for five and repeating the pattern for the length of your walking session. For an interval walking routine and other ways to increase intensity while walking, check out “3 Ways to Boost Walking Benefits” at sharecare.com.
By putting one foot in front of the other you can walk away from a host of health problems and make your RealAge younger.
Mehmet Oz, M.D. is host of “The Dr. Oz Show,” and Mike Roizen, M.D. is Chief Wellness Officer and Chair of Wellness Institute at Cleveland Clinic. To live your healthiest, tune into “The Dr. Oz Show” or visit sharecare.com.