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The Importance of Walking

May 27, 2011 | By Victoria Weinblatt
The Importance of Walking
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Walking helps you improve your overall health and control your weight. This safe and simple exercise is accessible for most people. You already know how to do it and you can start right away. Regular participation in a walking program offers many important health benefits. It improves your mood, lowers your blood pressure and helps manage Type 2 diabetes. Get approval from your health professional before you add walking to your treatment plan.

Successful Weight Loss

The amount of physical activity you do is one of the most accurate predictors of your long-term weight maintenance, according to information from the National Weight Control Registry reported in the March/April 2011 issue of the "Health and Fitness Journal." Out of over 6,000 participants in the NWCR, walking is the most popular method of burning calories via exercise. If you weigh 160 lbs, you burn 183 calories per hour walking at 2 mph and 277 calories per hour at 3.5 mph.

Reduces Prostate Cancer Progression

Walking is important as a natural method for reducing prostate cancer mortality. Brisk walking at a pace of at least 3 mph for three hours a week reduces the chances of developing indicators of cancer recurrence and the need for a second round of treatment, according to a study on 1,455 U.S. men by researchers from the University of California at San Francisco reported in the May 2011 issue of the medical journal "Cancer Research." The study revealed the importance of brisk walking. Going for a walk at a rate of less than 3 mph did not produce the same positive results.

Reduces Prostate Cancer Progression

Walking is important as a natural method for reducing prostate cancer mortality. Brisk walking at a pace of at least 3 mph for three hours a week reduces the chances of developing indicators of cancer recurrence and the need for a second round of treatment, according to a study by researchers from the University of California at San Francisco reported in the May 2011 issue of the medical journal "Cancer Research." Some of the 1,455 U.S. men in the UCSF study walked at a rate of less than 3 mph for the three hours per week and did not experience the same positive outcomes.

Slows Progression of Alzheimer's

Walking five miles per week for five to ten years slows down the progression of Alzheimer's disease in patients and healthy adults according to a 20-year ongoing study by the University of Pittsburgh reported at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America in November, 2010. The researchers found an association between higher rates of physical activity and greater brain volume and recommend cognitively impaired adults walk five miles per week to slow progression and healthy adults walk six miles per week as prevention.

References

Article reviewed by David Fisher Last updated on: May 27, 2011

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