Walking For Health: Weight Loss | Walking For Bone Health Benefits

By Patricia | August 3, 2010
Walking For Health

Walking for health has numerous benefits. Walking is considered a low impact form of exercise that can help you get fitter and healthier. Walking is in fact, one of the body’s most natural forms of exercise. Walking can be done at anytime and by anyone. It is safe, simple and needs to practice at all. It is an exercise for which there can be no excuse. If you start walking for health, it is best to start off with a slow exercise routine. Be sure to warm up for at least 10 minutes before you start to walk. This warm up should include stretching exercises. Start walking at a comfortable pace and up to a distance that is comfortable for you. Do not exert yourself on the first day itself. Start off with about a ten minute walk on the first day. You can then increase this to about 15 minutes twice a week and gradually build it up to 30 minutes three times a day or five times a week.

Walking for health would help you to overcome several illnesses. Some of these benefits of walking are listed below.

  • Walking is good for your bones. Walking is also effective in slowing down the rate of bone loss from the legs. Studies have shown that post menopausal women who walk for about a mile a day, have a higher bone density than women who walk for a shorter distance.
  • Walking for health helps one to deal with and alleviate the symptoms of depression.
  • One of the best benefits of walking for health is weight loss. It is the most inexpensive way to lose weight, if you keep at this exercise regularly.
  • Walking helps to reduce the risks of heart disease, cancer, osteoarthritis, type 2 diabetes and strokes.
  • Walking is an excellent cardiovascular exercise and helps to control blood pressure too.
  • Walking strengthens the heart muscle which is good as a healthy heart pumps more blood with lesser effort.
  • Walking also improves physical functions. Studies have shown that walking helps prevent disability in old people.
  • Research has shown the walking reduces the risk of breast and colon cancer too.
  • Walking also fights against stress and helps you to relax.
  • Walking helps to tone the body too.
  • Walking also raises high density lipoprotein (HDL or the good) cholesterol and lowers low density lipoprotein (LDL or the bad) cholesterol.

As you see, there are various benefits of walking for health and hence should be included in a person’s everyday lifestyle.

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