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It’s clear that walking is beneficial for health and fitness. As a matter of fact, regular walking exercise reduces the risk of premature deaths.
Now, a new study1 finds that walking is beneficial for extending a person’s life.
In the study’s conclusion, the researchers say;
Walking has been described as the “perfect exercise” because it is a simple action that is free, convenient, does not require any special equipment or training, and can be done at any age. This study shows that engaging in walking is associated with increased longevity and has the potential to improve the public’s health significantly.
Quick Details on Daily Walking Exercise Study
In this study, researchers say that walking counts as a physical activity. During the course of this study, researchers followed around 140,000 individuals for 13 years on average.
The researchers made a comparison between people who don’t exercise at all, people who utilize walking as their only means of exercise and those who do both walking along with other exercises.
Additionally, the researchers also made a comparison to people who performed beyond the recommended 150 minutes of physical activity each week, and those who got less.
Take note that most of the participants in this study are senior citizens whose average age is 70 years old. During the study, 43,000 of the participants have died.
At the end of the study, the researchers found;
- Individuals who don’t do exercise are 26% more likely to die than those who exercise less than 2 hours a week.
- Individuals who exercise more than 2 hours per week or more are 20% lower risk of dying.
Regardless whether individuals get 150 minutes of exercise weekly or through walking or along with other exercises, they enjoy longevity benefits.
However, people who walked the most enjoyed more benefits against cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, as well as cancer.
Therefore, a simple daily walking exercise is not only free but truly beneficial for health and wellness. Alpa Patel, researcher at the American Cancer Society and lead author of the study says;
In our study, close to 95% of people who engaged in any physical activity did some walking—but for half of those people, walking was the only moderate to vigorous exercise they got. Now we can see that it really does have real benefits.
Making Daily Walking Exercise A Habit
Most people these days are dependent on simply driving their car even buying something at a short distance. It’s not too late to start a daily walking exercise and enjoy the long-term benefits.
Additionally, you can allocate time during weekends for walking and even running. These simple and most of all free to do habits are truly beneficial for health and wellness.
Humans evolved walking and it has been a part of our life. When you have the opportunity to walk on the beach, always walk barefoot. This provides you a grounding connection to the earth, which is even more beneficial.
So, join the walking revolution today and reap the benefits of daily walking exercise. Again, it’s free, simple and when you walk around the green environment it’s relaxing.
Moreover, walking in an environment with many trees around, green grass and even near a body of water is great for minimizing and managing stress.
Of course, always prioritize good nutrition by eating the right foods that are energy and mood-boosting.
Lastly, while taking a walk, you can stop at a certain point your comfortable doing this nitric oxide-releasing exercise routine.
Conclusion
There are plenty of ways to allocate time for walking. Do whatever you can to take advantage and reap the benefits of daily walking exercise. For instance, even if you’re using your car more often, park your car farther away from where you’re heading to.
Then, walk the remaining 100 meters or more. Never discount the 100-meter walk. Imagine if you’re doing this 5 times or more in a day, you’re walking over 500 meters
If you’re working in an office at the second or third floor, use the stairs instead of the elevators. However, if your office is on the 50th floor, it may not be practical to walk through the stairs.
Instead, use the stairs a few floors and then take the elevator, or do it vice versa.