Walking Challenge 2009

Health benefits of walking
Studies show that walking can:
Reduce the risk of coronary heart disease and stroke
Lower blood pressure
Reduce high cholesterol and improve blood lipid profile
Reduce body fat
Enhance mental wellbeing
Increase bone density, hence helping to prevent osteoporosis
Reduce the risk of cancer of the colon
Reduce the risk of non insulin dependant diabetes
Help to control body weight
Help osteoarthritis
Help flexibility and co-ordination hence reducing the risk of falls
(Sources: Davison & Grant 1993, US Dept of Health 1996, British Heart Foundation 2000)

Whether you want to walk to improve your general health, to keep fit, to control your weight, or perhaps to recover from a period of ill-health, walking can help. It is something that can be done with children or older family members, it need cost you nothing, and can fit in with any lifestyle, income bracket, culture or domestic circumstance.

Click here to download a copy of the Lovely & Healthy Walking Challenge worksheet.

Walking for general health and longevity
Regular participation in physical activity (like walking) is associated with reduced mortality rates for both older and younger adults (US Dept of Health 1996). In other words, walkers live longer!

In particular, walking has a high impact on cardiovascular disease. Fit and active individuals have around half the risk of cardiovascular disease compared to unfit inactive people. This level of risk is similar to smoking, high blood pressure or high cholesterol in causing heart disease.

Fit walkers are less likely to fall and suffer injuries such as hip fractures because the bones are strengthened, less likely to sustain injury because joints have a better range of movement and muscles are more flexible, less prone to depression and anxiety, tend to be good sleepers, and are better able to control body weight.

For general health, experts recommend accumulating a total of 30 minutes of brisk walking on most, preferably all days of the week.

(Sources: US Dept of Health 1996, UK Dept of Health 2000, Health Education Authority 1996)

Walking to increase fitness
Regular walking, like all 'aerobic' exercise, can have a dramatic effect on cardiorespiratory fitness or 'aerobic power'. Regular exercise carried out three times a week for 30 minutes or more at the right intensity will result in increases of aerobic power (Davison & Grant 1993).

The intensity of walking for fitness benefits varies according to the age and fitness of the individual, but generally, 'brisk is best'.

A simple way to work out how briskly you should walk is to aim to walk "fast without overexertion". You should just about be able to hold a conversation while you are walking - the 'talk test'.

For the more technically minded, you should aim for the 'training zone'. To calculate this, take your age away from 220. Then try to walk so that your heart rate is at least 45% of this figure. So for example a 40 year old would be aiming to have a heart rate of at least 81 beats per minute (220 - 40 x 0.45).

Even 10-minute brisk walks can increase fitness, provided that they are brisk enough. One study at Loughbrough University found that women walking continuously for 30 minutes 5 days a week had almost identical increases in fitness as women who split their 30 minutes into three 10-minute walks (Murphy & Hardman 1998). Perhaps even more encouraging was that the short walkers lost more weight and reported greater decreases in waist circumference than the long walkers.

Brisk is best -walk fast without over-exertion.

Walking for weight control
Control of body weight occurs when the calories taken in as food are balanced with the calories expended through walking and other physical activities. The key issue for weight control is to maximise the total volume of calories used, (at any intensity) and to combine this with healthy eating.

Walking one mile (1.6km) can burn up at least 100kcal (420kJ) of energy and walking two miles (3.2km) a day, three times a week, can help reduce weight by one pound (0.5kg) every three weeks.

Walking also alters fat metabolism so that fat is burned up instead of sugars, helping to reduce weight.

Walk as much as possible - every little bit counts.

Walking for mental health
Walking has been shown to improve self esteem, relieve symptoms of depression and anxiety, and improve mood. Walking, particularly in pleasant surroundings, and with other people, offers many opportunities for relaxation and social contact.

Walking makes you feel good!

Walking to regain health after illness
Many GPs are now 'prescribing' gentle walking for people suffering from a range of conditions. In fact there are few people on most GPs lists who would not benefit from walking more.

If you have been ill, always take your doctor's advice if it differs from what is written here. It is important not to increase the heart rate too suddenly. At first, you may be able to walk only a very short way at a gentle pace, but if you do this regularly you will soon increase your capacity for distance and pace.

What about children?
The majority of studies of young people indicate declining participation in physical activity. Only half of 11-16 year olds currently walk for ten minutes a day (Health Education Authority 1999). Children in Britain walk 50 miles a year less than they did a decade ago. Around 20% of children can be classed as overweight (Reilly et al 1999). TV, computers, cultural changes and fears for children's safety out of doors play a large part.

Between 1986 and 1996 the proportion of under 17 year olds walking to school fell from 59% to 49%. British schools offer less physical education than do those in any other European country.

The Health Education Authority recommends that "all young people should participate in physical activity of at least moderate intensity for one hour per day. Examples of moderate intensity activities for all young people may include brisk walking, cycling, swimming, most sports or dance" (Cavill, Biddle & Sallis 2001).

Walking offers a great way to help kids get the active habit. If parents express excitement about the prospect of a walk in the countryside, they are more likely to transmit this feeling to their children. It's important to treat the walk as an exploration or adventure and to go at the child's pace, no matter how often they want to stop and look at things; take treats to eat and plenty to drink; and head for some landmark that will appeal to them such as a castle, a playground, an ice cream van or a boating pond.

If children experience walking as part of a fun activity they are more likely to want to go again.