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Is Walking Enough to Improve Health?
Recently a research study has been published that reported walking is not enough activity to prevent death from heart disease. The Irish study followed men aged 45 to 59 years for a total of 11 years and found no consistent preventative relationship between cardiovascular death and moderate activity such as walking. Instead, more vigorous exercise was needed to protect oneself from death from cardiac disease. The question remains, is walking enough exercise to improve health. The answer - despite the recent research findings - is certainly yes.
In some ways the research is not new. There is no question that regular vigorous exercise, such as running, cycling, or intense game sports, provide more benefits than lower intensity activities. This has been known for a long time. The problem is that high intensity exercise is a major barrier to those who need it most - people who do little or no activity at all. For these people almost any amount of activity will result in long term health benefits.
There is overwhelming evidence that there are many health benefits to be gained from regular walking - both in terms of physical and mental health and wellbeing. If you are not sufficiently active - currently defined as a minimum of 30 minutes of activity per day for at least 5 days a week - you can gain the short and long term benefits simply by walking. Your health will improve. Your wellbeing will improve. And you may be more able to do more vigorous activity at some point down the road.
If you are regularly active, the results of the study may encourage you to add a bit of vigorous exercise to your routine. But if you are not active, do not use these research results as an excuse not to walk. Walking is enough to improve health.
Article by Professor Kerry Mummery
Central Queensland University
