technically, may is
national walking month, but we would humbly like to offer up october as an alternative. it comes with brisker weather and pretty fall foliage to gawk at. (it also comes fresh off the heels of
sourdough september, if you feel the need to walk off all that bread).if the pandemic has you feeling a bit stir-crazy — your brain dull, your hands and feet jittery — now seems like the perfect time to get serious about getting your steps in. here’s a guide to some of the many ways that a simple walk is good for you.
we really, really don’t walk enough
a
2017 study of more than 100 countries published in the journal nature found that canadians have pretty dismal walking rates. on average, the number of steps taken each day was approximately 5,000, or the equivalent of four kilometres. residents of hong kong came out on top with 6,880 steps each day, or roughly six kilometres. canada came in below average at 4,819 steps a day, just a smidge better than the americans, and much worse than the british, who typically walked 5,444 steps a day. basically, everyone in europe walks more than we do.a study released in september 2020 from statistics canada
found that canadians employed in full-time work were sedentary for 68.9 per cent of their day, on average. and more than
80 per cent of us aren’t getting the recommended 150 minutes a week of moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity (brisk walking falls into this category). it’s not much better for the young, either. according to a
2015 participaction report, only five per cent of canadians between the ages of five and 19 were getting the daily minimum of 12,000 steps.
the general view
walking is not cross-fit or hot yoga or one of those vaguely cult-like indoor cycling regimes. it doesn’t require expensive leggings. it won’t give you a six-pack. in other words, it’s not particularly sexy, shiny or new.however, it’s hard to oversell the benefits, given the stacks of research into the activity. to put it bluntly, more walking equals less death. according to
a report from c3 collaborating for health in the u.k., studies have shown an association between walking “and a reduction in deaths from all causes, ranging from 19 to 30 per cent depending on the frequency and length of walking activities.” the best results were seen with walking 20 kilometres per week, beyond the steps taken in regular daily activities.however, there were positive results even among the less ambitious. a 2011 study of 400,000 people published in the lancet found that 15 minutes a day of moderate exercise, which includes brisk walking, has health benefits that can add up to three years to life expectancy. the c3 report notes that “every additional 15 minutes of daily exercise reduced all‐cause death rates by a further 4 per cent.”
no, it’s not just for old people
because walking is low-impact, its reputation sometimes suffers as an exercise for the elderly only. yes, regular walking has been shown to have a positive impact on everything from
fewer injuries from falls to slowing the onset of dementia, but the benefits of walking aren’t limited to one demographic.a systematic review and meta-analysis
published in the british journal of sports medicine found that adults taking part in outdoor walking groups reaped wide-ranging health benefits such as reductions in blood pressure, resting heart rate, body fat and cholesterol and lower rates of depression. the mayo clinic has its own
list of benefits; walking can help strengthen bones and muscles, improve balance and coordination and prevent heart disease and type 2
diabetes.and don’t forget about children. george mammen, a phd candidate at the university of toronto, says walking to school every day has a
host of benefits: “children who walk to school have been found to have higher academic performance in terms of attention/alertness, verbal, numeric, and reasoning abilities; higher degree of pleasantness and lower levels of stress during the school day; and higher levels of happiness, excitement and relaxation on the journey to school.”
better than bmi?
in 2019, researchers at the university of leicester published
a study of the walking speeds of nearly 475,000 britons in mayo clinic proceedings, a peer-reviewed medical journal. in a nutshell, they suggest that fast walkers lived longer than slower walkers, even if the fast walker was considered overweight or obese. this is important given that one’s body mass index (bmi) — a measure of body fat based on height and weight — is no longer the measure of overall health it once was. in fact, it is
now considered simply a measure of size as opposed to an indicator of disease.in a press release, professor tom yates, a lead author of the study, said, “the findings suggest that perhaps physical fitness is a better indicator of life expectancy than body mass index (bmi), and that encouraging the population to engage in brisk walking may add years to their lives.”
this is your brain on walking
researchers at the university of toronto published a study of more than 26 years’ worth of scholarly research in the american journal of preventive medicine.
they found that just 20 minutes of walking or gardening a day can ward off depression in people of all age groups.clearly, walking is good. and if you still feel drawn to the couch, perhaps consider the words of neuroscientist shane o’mara who poetically described the impact walking can have
in an interview with the guardian.“one of the great overlooked superpowers we have is that, when we get up and walk, our senses are sharpened,” he said. “rhythms that would previously be quiet suddenly come to life, and the way our brain interacts with our body changes.”
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