Make Walking Your 30-Minute Daily Routine
In the time it takes to watch a TV sitcom, you could be taking steps to reduce your risk for heart disease and stroke. All it takes is 30 minutes of walking. 
As more Americans become less active, our risk for heart disease, stroke and other diseases increases. About 80 percent of adults do not get enough exercise every week, according to the American Heart Association.
To encourage people to take charge of their health, officials at the AHA have declared April 1 as National Walking Day – a day for everyone to take 30 minutes out of their day to get up and walk.
Not only is walking one of the easiest and cheapest things people can do to reduce their risk of heart disease and stroke, it’s also a type of exercise that people often stick with over the long haul.
Ideally, adults should get at least 150 minutes of moderately intense physical exercise – such as brisk walking – every week. Children need an hour of physical activity every day.
Research has shown that walking has many health benefits. Walking 30 minutes a day can help:
- Reduce your risk of coronary heart disease and stroke
- Improve your blood pressure, blood sugar levels and blood lipid profile
- Maintain your body weight and lower the risk of obesity
- Enhance your mental well-being
- Reduce your risk of osteoporosis
- Reduce your risk of breast and colon cancer
- Reduce your risk of non-insulin dependent type 2 diabetes
Walking has also been shown to lower the risk of heart-related conditions as much as running can, according to a 2013 study published in the American Heart Association journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology. Researchers found that the same energy used for moderate intensity walking and vigorous intensity running resulted in similar reductions in risk for high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes.
The more people walked or ran each week, the more their health benefits increased, too.
Source: American Heart Association news releases
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