EDITOR’S SUMMARY: Lace up, dress for the weather, and open your front door. Put one foot in front of the other, push, and go. Perhaps this age-old activity called walking is even more joyful if you have a canine companion, music piped through headphones, or lush nature leading your way. Whatever your pleasure, research shows that walking for exercise (not to mention as a way to get from one place to another) is extraordinary for multiple body functions, including a relaxed emotional state, and disease prevention.
Written by Robyn Chittister
Edited by Nicki Steinberger, Ph.D.
The beginning of a new year is right around the corner. You know what that means … reestablishing commitments you made to yourself regarding your health. Physical activity is a given to hit your list, and if you’ve taken spins on the “been there, done that” Ferris wheel numerous times, self-doubt may be lurking. On the bright side of life, choosing a path of simplicity may ease your worries about success and failure.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advises adults to get 150 minutes of “moderate-intensity” physical activity per week. That equates to 30 minutes moving your body intentionally, 5 days a week. Is this doable? Gym memberships, yoga classes, and home exercise equipment may require copious amounts of time, social engagement when you don’t feel like it, and a big budget. Not to mention, if you have a disability, you may be physically unable to engage in robust exercise. But exercising doesn’t have to mean buying expensive equipment you use for a week, and then let sit until your next garage sale. It also doesn’t need to involve complicated regimens, or hours of devotion.
Enter walking: a worthwhile, low-tech exercise accessible to you at any age, if you are able-bodied enough to walk. Walking is a low-impact activity, in which you can control your intensity level—low, medium, or high—and vary it as needed. You don’t need special skills or equipment; you can regulate your pace, how far you go, and how often. Walking doesn’t place undue strain on your feet or joints, in the way other exercises might. Walking is so valuable, that it’s the most common form of exercise for women. While sometimes judged as “not enough,” walking is an aerobic activity that delivers health benefits similar to vigorous exercise, with minimal adverse effects.
Walking increases metabolism and prevents muscle loss. It can lower your blood pressure, improve cognitive performance, enhance core strength, and help prevent cardiovascular disease (CVD). It also supports your immune system, strengthens joints, muscles, and bones, and relieves stress. Walking can reduce the risk for acute and chronic illnesses, including sleep apnea, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), and insulin resistance. If you are in your older adult years, strolling at a comfortable pace can help lower your risk of stroke. Published in 2023, from Newsroom at the American Heart Association:
“A study of people ages 70 and older found walking an additional 500 steps per day, or an additional quarter mile of walking, was associated with a 14% lower risk of heart disease, stroke or heart failure.”
Metabolic sanity: Research shows that walking may lead to a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes, now at global epidemic proportions. Strutting regularly can help reduce visceral fat—the type that’s wrapped around your organs—which improves your body’s response to insulin. Walking on a regular basis will give you a lower glucose (sugar) and insulin response. Immediately after eating your meal, even just two minutes of walking can help lower blood sugar. Longer jaunts have even more benefits, but baby steps work too, and are a great place to start. The American Diabetes Association (ADA) specifically recommends walking because it lowers blood sugar levels, thus reducing your risk for metabolic syndrome, prediabetes, and type 2 diabetes.
Typically, blood sugar levels are at their peak 60–90 minutes after eating, though this is unique to your specific metabolic make-up. A meta-analysis of seven different studies found that taking a walk within that time frame “was associated with more gradual changes in blood sugar levels,” when compared to sitting or standing.
“Studies have clearly shown that moderate exercise, including simply walking, after a meal can lower the surge in blood sugar that follows eating,” says Nick West, M.D., chief medical officer and divisional vice president of global medical affairs at Abbott. “In people with diabetes, this has translated into better glucose control, which in the long run, could translate into reduced complications from the disease.”
Joints and bones: Although it may seem counterintuitive, walking can alleviate joint pain, because it increases blood flow, and helps strengthen the muscles around your joints. One study found that participants who walked for one hour a week were more likely to remain free of disability, even after four years had passed. From American Journal of Preventive Medicine, “One Hour a Week: Moving to Prevent Disability in Adults With Lower Extremity Joint Symptoms”:
“Minimal thresholds of 56 and 55 moderate–vigorous minutes/week best predicted disability-free status over 4 years from mobility and activities of daily living disabilities.”
Similarly, walking can reduce the risk for bone loss by slowing density loss in the hips, legs, and lower spine. Brisk walking supports bone density over the long-term, which reduces the risks of osteoporosis and bone fractures, particularly for older women. An NIH study from JAMA, “Walking and leisure-time activity and risk of hip fracture in postmenopausal women,” found that the risk of hip fracture was lowered by 6% for every one hour per week of walking at an average pace. Walking for at least 4 hours per week was associated with a 41% lower risk of hip fracture in postmenopausal women.
From PLOS One, “The volume of brisk walking is the key determinant of BMD improvement in premenopausal women,” over 200 premenopausal women were split into two groups: one in which participants engaged in brisk walking, and one in which participants were sedentary. At the end of the study, the bone mineral density (BMD) in the brisk walking group was significantly higher than the BMD in the sedentary group. The study concluded that “long-term brisk walking is an efficient way to improve BMD,” and recommended taking three or more brisk walks per week for 30 minutes each.
Heart Health
According to the Mayo Clinic, a leisurely stroll of just 21 minutes a day can reduce the risk of a heart attack by 30%. In this 2015 study, which involved almost 30,000 participants, walking was found to be inversely proportional to cardiovascular disease (CVD). While 66% of people without CVD, and not at risk for CVD were walkers, only 50% of people who actively had CVD were walkers. Why? Because your evening excursion on foot under a starry sky can reduce triglycerides (fat in your blood) and lower blood pressure, as well as combat obesity and type 2 diabetes, all of which are known precursors to heart-specific events.
The Women’s Health Initiative Observational Study included over 70,000 postmenopausal women, ages 50 to 79. Walking and strenuous exercise were associated with reducing the risks of coronary and cardiovascular events. The study also found that prolonged sitting was associated with increased cardiovascular risk. Women who either walked or exercised vigorously for at least two and a half hours per week reduced their risk of coronary and cardiovascular events by approximately 30 percent.
The study’s authors noted: Research has shown that moderate-intensity activity, such as walking, is associated with reduction in cardiovascular risk. This was seen among Black and White women, both younger and postmenopausal, across various weight levels. These benefits also hold true for men.
The 2020 Framingham Heart Study followed over 600 participants who tracked their steps by wearing a device daily, and who recorded their blood pressure weekly. On average, a participant’s blood pressure was lowered by .45 points for every 1,000 daily steps taken. So, if you walk 3,000 steps, your systolic blood pressure would likely be about 1.35 points lower than someone who doesn’t walk at all. Participants averaged approximately 7,500 steps per day, and those who had higher step counts “had significantly lower systolic and diastolic blood pressure.”
Although the phrase “10,000 steps” has been in the mainstream language for most of this century, that number isn’t based on scientific research. In a 2019 study, “Association of Step Volume and Intensity With All-Cause Mortality in Older Women,” participants who averaged 4,400 steps per day had lower mortality rates than women who averaged 2,700 steps per day. As women accrued more steps per day, mortality rates decreased, and leveled off at about 7,500 steps.
Studies of mortality rates and step counts done in Australia and Great Britain found that higher steps counts were associated with lower mortality rates, when followed up after 5–10 years. In the Australian study, every 1,000 step per day increment was associated with a 6% risk reduction for mortality. In the Great Britain study, every 1,000 step per day increment was associated with a 14% risk reduction for mortality.
Your pace may be a factor in the health benefits you’ll receive from walking. A common definition of “brisk walking”: maintaining a pace of at least 3 miles per hour, or 20 minutes per mile. The Women’s Health Initiative Observational Study found that pace was associated with lower cardiovascular risk. Essentially, the faster a woman walked, the lower her risk.
Meanwhile, in a study of almost 500,000 participants who self-reported their pace, brisk walkers, specifically, had a longer life expectancy, regardless of adiposity (severely overweight or obese). The study found that about four miles per hour was the optimal walking speed. Investigators analyzed seven studies that included more than 120,000 participants. Individuals in the fastest walking pace category had a 44% lower risk of stroke than individuals in the lowest pace walking category. Pace was inversely proportional to stroke risk.
However, in the 2019 study of older women mentioned previously, the stepping intensity rate wasn’t shown to have an effect on mortality rates, suggesting that “step volume, rather than step intensity, may be more important” for health benefits. Similarly, in a study of 39,000 female health professionals, ages 45 years and older, time spent walking, not the pace, was associated with lower risk for coronary heart disease (CHD).
Even participants who were at higher risk for CHD, such as smokers and those with high triglycerides, saw their risk lessen with walking. Women who walked at least one hour per week had half the rate of CHD as sedentary women.Therefore, a handful of fifteen-minute walks done consistently over time shouldn’t be dismissed as insignificant.
Now, if you experience obesity, your pace and duration may be slower and shorter than other walkers. It’s a must to start exactly where you are, and refrain from comparing yourself to others. Because you are moving more body mass, you will likely generate more heat, and may sweat a lot. This is perfectly normal at this stage of your walking practice, and also true for those with large muscle mass.
According to this study, the time participants spent walking was associated with a reduced risk of stroke, and more important than their pace. From AHA Journals, Stroke, “Protective Effect of Time Spent Walking on Risk of Stroke in Older Men”:
“Among community dwelling older men, we observed a weak nonsignificant inverse association between total leisure time PA and stroke, and a strong inverse dose–response association between time spent walking and risk of stroke, independent of walking pace, vigorous physical activity, established, and novel risk factors. Results suggest that the total volume of walking rather than the intensity is important for stroke prevention. We investigated a range of plausible mechanisms to explain associations between walking and stroke, including lipids, hypertension, markers of inflammation, and endothelial dysfunction, but none fully mediated the associations with time spent walking.”
Again, the CDC recommends 150 minutes of moderate physical activity per week, but increasing from 0 to 150 can be difficult, so start small. Do your best to set realistic goals. The idea is to build a routine that you can incorporate into your everyday life. For example, walk for 10 to 20 minutes after a meal, and you’ll keep your blood sugar down as a result. See if you can carve out time for intentional steps between tasks at home or at work. Be consistent. Schedule your walks, and consider taking exploratory outings with a friend. When it’s raining or snowing, take a walk indoors. Mall walking is a “thing,” and no less a real workout than anywhere else. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Every little bit counts.
Consider these additional tips to “step up” your walking routine:
- Walk hills and mountains, aka “hiking,” for intensified lung and cardiovascular exercise.
- Vary your pace—speed walk, slow down, and speed back up again.
- Race yourself by clocking the time it takes you to do the same walk over multiple days.
- Add variety: Plan a different route for different days of the week.
- Carry weights to increase calorie burn and muscle toning.
- Listen to music or podcasts to be swept away to a far-off place.
- Do a walking meditation to raise awareness and presence.
- Walk with family or friends. If the humans won’t join you, bring a furry friend along. If you’re looking for some extra cash, you could even start a dog-walking gig.
“Sitting is the new smoking,” a term coined by Dr. James Levine, professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic. Living a sedentary life increases numerous health risks, particularly when extended sitting is a daily routine. Interestingly, the less active you are to begin with, the greater the health benefits of light to moderate activity, such as walking. Even if you can’t go very far, just a few minutes of walking done on a consistent basis will enhance the quality of your life.
Stress, mood, and mental health: Second to none, there’s no arguing that uplifting your emotional state, and being able to influence the steadiness and stability of your mental health—psychological, emotional, and social well-being—is critical to maintaining inner peace and life-satisfaction. Short or long walks can decrease depression and anxiety, and increase creativity and concentration. In a nutshell … walking is fuel for self-empowerment, and contributes to an expanded view of sense of self—”perception of the collection of characteristics that define you.”
And perhaps best of all … From “How Walking Can Boost Your Mood and Reduce Stress”:
“Walking can be used like yoga to clear the mind and make yourself present to the moment or as a preparation for meditation. You can re-connect your mind and body, and lose yourself in the perfect expression of rhythm, breathing, moving.”
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Published on December 28, 2023.
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