Health Benefits Of Walking: Lose Weight Walking | Lowers Blood Pressure | Weight Loss | Stress

By Patricia | August 24, 2010

The health benefits of walking are many.

No age restrictions. Whether you are young or old, whether you are short or tall, thin or fat, walking is an exercise you can do without any formal training. All you have to do is put one foot in front of the other as we all learnt as toddlers. Walking is inexpensive. You can walk anywhere on the roads or walking trails and avoid going to fancy expensive gyms.

But even more important are the health benefits of walking. It is one of the best life-insurance a person could get. Walking increases your lung capacity and also increases the oxygen levels in your blood. Brisk walking for at least 2 miles for 5 days in the week gives you as much aerobic benefit as you would get by a high heart rate exercise. Your heart pumps more efficiently, your brain thinks better, and even minor colds and blocked sinuses get cleared faster.
Weight loss is a major health benefit of walking. Regular walking can help you shed weight faster and also keep you from putting on extra weight.
Walking also helps you to ward off or manage many diseases effectively. Walking helps to lower ‘bad’ cholesterol (LDL), but at the same time it helps to raise ‘good’ cholesterol (HDL). Walking also helps to lower high blood pressure. If you suffer from Type 2 diabetes, walking would be a good way to manage it.
Walking strengthens your skeletal bone structure and is often recommended for plus-forties as a preventive for osteoporosis. Walking can improve posture by strengthening the spine and back muscles. Simple walking can sometimes even provide relief from back-aches and other common ailments, while at the same time adding new strength and vigor to the body.
Other health benefits of walking are its stress-busting abilities. Walking also releases feel-good endorphins which has a positively direct effect on overall health. It can stimulate the thinking process by increasing the oxygen supply to the brain. Even simple walking at a moderate pace helps to increase energy levels. It makes you fit and strong and elevates your moods in two ways. One is the joy and freedom of walking outdoors and the other is the boost to your self-esteem by a stronger and more toned body.
Tips: If you want to extract the maximum health benefits of walking, you must do it regularly (at least 5 times in the week), whether for a short or long duration or at a slow or fast pace.

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