Walking Gives Health Benefits to Most People

Walking Gives Health Benefits to Most People

Vital Signs have reported adults who are walking for a minimum of 10 minutes increased up to 62% from 56% in 2005.

A recommendation of at least 2 ½ hours every week of moderate physical activity to have health benefits was made by 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. Activities such as brisk walking must be performed for at least 10 minutes a time.

Thomas Frieden, CDC director, said that those who are physically active have lower risk factors for stroke, heart disease, depression, type 2 diabetes, and some types of cancers, thus, they live longer.

Report of Vital Signs shows increase in walking activities in almost all groups that were surveyed. Walkers, as defined in the study, are people who walk for at least 10 minutes every session for exercise, fun or transportation.

Also, it is found out that people who have hypertension and arthritis does walking as their physical activity. In contrary, adults who were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes have no increase in walking.

The study gave suggestions to provide more places for walking. This includes the following:

• Local and state governments can agree to let residents use school tracks after classes.
• Walking paths can be created to promote walking to employers.
• Residents can participate in discussions about identifying sites for walking.

Posted by George Daniels on Wednesday August 08 2012, 3:15 AM EST. Ref: CDC. Link. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, Health. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0