There is plenty of evidence that regularly walking, like every day, benefits your health no matter what your age. Regular brisk walking improves circulation, makes your heart and lungs work more efficiently and burns calories. It is free, takes no special equipment, no gym membership and can be done alone or with others. It also improves your mood and reduces the effects of stress.
Just in case those are not enough reasons to lace up your walking shoes, a recent study by Brigham & Women's Hospital in Boston suggests that it may also help you to live longer.
The study followed 16,741 women with an average age of 72 years for four years, investigating their physical activity. Moderate to vigorous intensity brisk walking was associated with 60-70 percent lower risk of death at the end of the four-year study among the most active women, compared to the least active. And unlike most studies which rely on self-reporting of activity, this one measured their activity using a wearable device called a triaxial accelerometer. Light activity was not associated with a lower death rate.
"If you suffer from any health issues," says Dr. David Thomas, professor of rehabilitation medicine at the Ichan School of Medicine in NYC, "take the precaution of checking with your doctor before beginning a walking program. Start out slow and progress gradually as you become accustomed to the effort."
If you have not been active and want to get walking, here is beginner walking program from the Mayo Clinic. Seriously. Why would you not?
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