New Straits Times

Increase fitness with walking

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WHAT IS THE STRATEGY TO INCREASE STEPS USING A PEDOMETER?

1. Park your car far away and walk to your destinatio­n.

Use the stairs, not the elevator. Take a break every hour for five minutes and walk around your office. Choose to walk to a nearby place instead of drive.

Stand if possible in a meeting or discussion.

6. Move feet and legs while sitting. 8. Use the toilet upstairs or downstairs. 9. Talk to your colleagues instead of

sending e-mail or making a call. 10. Stretch in office before and after

work.

11. Run on the treadmill during lunch

break or after work. 2. 3.

4.

5.

HOW DO I CHOOSE A PEDOMETER? There are two types of pedometer, wearable (like a watch or bracelet) and a handphone app.

CHARACTERI­STICS TO CONSIDER

1. Simplicity. Choose one which is easy to use. Just clip it on and you are ready to go. It will reset the steps to zero each day.

2. Added features. Some may calculate time spent in an activity, distance walked, calories and a heart rate monitor. Many activity trackers allow you to sync your data to computers or smart phone apps. Check the battery life too. If you wear it during swimming, make sure you get a waterproof device.

3. Accuracy. Most pedometers are generally accurate and reliable at counting basic steps.

Display. Some devices come with a

4.

Walk more than 12,000 steps per day if you want to lose weight.

Using the stairs will help increase your step count. display. You can read your step and other data both indoors and outdoors.

Price. The cost of a pedometer usually dependsç on how many features it offers. Activity trackers that use accelerome­ter may cost two to three times that amount.

HOW DO I LOSE WEIGHT USING A PEDOMETER?

A typical step per day of various lifestyles of 10,000 steps per day is approximat­ely 300 kcal. A person aged 45 and weighing 70kg can burn around 400kcal by walking 10,000 steps briskly (3-5mph).

A recommenda­tion is to walk more than 12,000 steps per day if you want to lose weight. If you’re trying to lose weight, you should also aim to reduce your daily calorie intake by 600kcal. This is best achieved by a combinatio­n of diet and exercise.

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