Why Walking Should Be in Your Daily Routine

 

We talk a lot here about foods and diet but regular exercise is also a leg of the healthy aging (and living) stool. If you’re dealing with obesity, depression, stress, heart problems, or joint pain, you should try walking more as it may be a big part of the solution to your health issues. Now I realize that some of us, for one reason or another, are unable to walk regularly. But for the rest of us, making a 30 minute walk a regular part of your day will pay big benefits.

Walking costs you nothing but time, requires nothing more than a decent pair of shoes, can be done alone or with friends, indoors or out in all sorts of weather and you can do (or start to do) it at any age. Most physicians favor walking for exercise over-running due to the fact that it is a low-impact exercise thus making it far less punishing on the joints and heart. Walking yields various health benefits regardless of how old or fit someone might be. It can also reduce the odds of developing various diseases and extend your lifespan.

If that is not enough to get you started (or motivate you to keep going), consider these specific health benefits of a regular walking habit.

Walking Improves Heart Health

A study that was published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society stated that both women and men that were aged 65 years or more would be at lower risk for cardiovascular disease if they walk for no less than four hours each week. If you want to ward off any heart diseases and even the possibility of a stroke, be sure to get four hours or more of walking time in any given week. 

Heart attacks are a top cause of death all around the world, so if you can add a decade or two to your life just by walking more, you’d have to be at least careless to not do it.

Walking Helps Keep Your Weight Down

Walking can help you lose weight by burning off calories and is overall a great exercise for your whole body. If you live in a place where it is practical it could be a good idea to give your car a rest and walk to any nearby destinations. Not only will you lose weight, but you’ll also save money on the gas that you would have otherwise consumed by driving to your destinations. The bottom line is that walking will lighten your results on the scale and keep your wallet heavier.

Walking Can Reduce Your Risk of Diabetes

In the US alone, 37.3 million people have diabetes (2022 data) - that’s 11.3% of the US population. And 8.5 million people who have diabetes have not been diagnosed and do not know they have it. Another 96 million US adults have prediabetes. Considering that diabetes raises your risk of heart disease, kidney disease, stroke, nerve damage and hypertension, it seems like a free method for reducing your risk would be of interest to a whole lot of people.

There are many other reasons why making a walking routine a part of your day will make you a healthier, happier person.

For a list of 11 big benefits of walking, check out this article. Then grab your sneakers, call the dog, and get walking.