Walking is not a waste of time or a way to get tired uselessly. It is a healthy exercise that produces positive effects on the body. However, do you know how much to walk and in what way to improve your health?
Walking is one of the most complete and beneficial activities for the health of the body, and it is also simple to perform because it does not require special clothing or facilities. No physical activity provides so many benefits in exchange for so little effort, as long as it is practiced continuously. However, the question always arises as to how many minutes it would be advisable to walk to protect health.
A University of Cambridge study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine suggests that walking 11 minutes a day (75 minutes a week) at moderate intensity (brisk walking) would be enough to start reducing the risk of heart disease, stroke, and several types of cancer. However, do you know that the destination you choose when walking also matters?
Sometimes scientists conduct curious studies with surprising and very useful results to enhance our health and well-being. The authors of an Ohio University study, published in the Journal of Transport & Health, analyzed 125,000 people aged 18 to 64 about their walking habits. The funny thing is that they were asked about the time they spent walking to get from home to work, to go shopping or during recreational activities.
They found that walking any distance, anywhere, for any reason is good for your health, but what’s surprising is that they found that people who walk to specific destinations, such as work or the grocery store, appreciate a greater health benefit than people who walk primarily for pleasure.
THE WAY OF WALKING THAT MOST PROTECTS HEALTH
“We found that utilitarian walking is better for health and that those types of walking are easy to incorporate into the daily routine,” said study lead professor Gulsah Akar. He explained that adding as little as 10 minutes of walking a day can increase self-rating on one’s own health status by one point, on a scale of one to five.
One of the reasons why walking to work can be especially beneficial is because you walk faster than if you walk for pleasure, and that effort is beneficial for health. Researchers have even calculated that healthy cruising speed: an average of 4.5 kms per hour.
A curious and interesting fact of the study is the walks that start from home tend to be longer than those that start from anywhere else. Therefore, think especially about saving the trips you make by car from home to travel a distance that you can actually cover on foot. Akar expressly recommends that we consider what usual routes we can make walking. ” Going to the gym or running aren’t the only ways to exercise; Walking is equally beneficial,” he adds.
The Ohio University study has only assessed the effect of walking on self-perception of health status, but the objective benefits of exercise on physical and mental health are well known (especially in the state of the musculoskeletal, respiratory, cardiovascular and immune systems). And there are added the benefits for everyone of not using means of transport: less pollution and noise, and less consumption of material and energy resources.
THE BENEFITS OF WALKING
Here are the health benefits of going for a daily walk:
- Internally, the first results are seen in the circulatory system. Leg movement improves venous return and blood distribution, a relief for people suffering from leg swelling.
- Walking helps to be fit, improve muscle tone, maintain joint mobility and gain agility.
- It is also very useful to combat decalcification and prevent osteoporosis: it helps maintain the mineral content of the bone. It’s something that women at the age of menopause should be keenly aware of.
- Intense walks helps to fall asleep sooner and sleep more and better, because the body is more relaxed.
HOW MANY STEPS TO WALK TO ENSURE IRON HEALTH?
Even though walking 11 minutes a day is enough to maintain health. Other studies have shown that walking two hours a day at a good pace (15,000 steps a day, about 11 km) multiplies the health benefits of walking. Why is this number of steps used as an example of good healthy practice? These are the steps taken by the postmen with the best state of health in Glasgow (United Kingdom), whose health was analyzed by scientists from the University of Warwick.
A study from the University of Warwick has found that they are more in their weight, their waist circumference is lower and blood glucose and cholesterol levels are better than those of their more sedentary peers. These conditions protect them against heart attacks and other vascular diseases and also against diabetes.
According to Dr. William Tigbe, the distance traveled by the postmen is a good objective for the rest of the citizens.
To conduct the study, the researchers placed pedometers on all postmen in the city. Not only did they see how much the delivery men walked, but some of their office colleagues spent up to 15 hours sitting a day, spread between the workplace and at home.
But walking 15,000 steps is only beneficial if done at a good pace. Tigbe estimates that a speed of 6.5 km/h is adequate, although it is not necessary to walk the two hours in a row.
In general, the continued practice of walking allows you to maintain long-term health, a goal that also has a positive impact on mental well-being and self-esteem.