Most people nowadays are still unaware or they ignore the importance of walking and its good impact on health. In fact, physical activity does not need to be complicated. Something as simple as brisk walking can help you live a healthier life.
It is well-known that walking is really a good form of exercise and can help you reach your fitness and weight loss goals. Walking requires minimal equipment, can be done at any time of the day and can be done at your own pace. You can go out and walk without worrying about the risks associated with some of the strongest forms of exercise. Walking is also a form of physical activity for people who are overweight, elderly or who have not exercised for a long time.
When you look around you, you ironically will face an individual who works with lots of exercises and still lots of excuses. Running around? Cramps in your side. Swimming? He hates wet. Walking? Um... Finally, an exercise really devoid of downsides. It may not be impressive or cold, but if done correctly, can offer a host of impressive features such as those often obtained from sports regimens.
Of course, you probably know that any physical activity, including walking, is a boon to your overall health. But walking in particular comes with incredible benefits. For instance, walking regularly can counteract the effects of weight-promoting genes, it can reduce cravings and intake of a variety of sugary snacks and it boosts immune function. Different studies underscore the importance of walking. When it comes to women who walked seven or more hours a week had a 14 per cent lower risk of breast cancer than those who walked three hours or fewer per week.
Moreover, studies have found that those who adhered to the walking programme showed significant improvements in blood pressure, slowing resting heart rate, lowering body fat and body weight, lowering blood cholesterol, improving depression scores while improving quality of life and increasing endurance measures.
Although exercise for many people is a big part of a self-care exercise, it’s usually really scary — imagine knowing exactly what to do when you’re in the gym if you haven’t gone before. Still definitely you will need to choose a walking route and daily step goal that’s appropriate for your age and fitness level!
Also, we know that brisk walking burns more kilojoules per hour than walking slowly, but that doesn’t mean you should push yourself so you don’t breathe. Instead, you have to rush yourself to talk. This simple rule of thumb means that you walk safely within your target heart rate, which eventually will bring health gains!
At this point, I do usually encourage people with osteoarthritis to have just a moderate exercise, including walking and stretching. It provides considerable disease-specific benefits for those with osteoarthritis without worsening symptoms or disease progression. As such, adults with osteoarthritis can expect significant improvements in pain, physical function, quality of life and mental health by engaging in low-impact physical activity for approximately 150 minutes per week.
Interestingly, it is great to make your walking enjoyable, exploring what’s going on around you, notice the sky, the people and the sounds.
Thus, start your walking plan and pick up which days of the week work best for you and your schedule and continue to make walking a regular part of your life.
Dr Yousuf Ali al Mulla, MD, Ministry of Health, is a medical innovator and educator. For any queries regarding the content of the column he can be contacted at: dryusufalmulla@gmail.com
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