Why walking is soooooo good for you!

Why walking is soooooo good for you!

Walking is no longer seen as the soft exercise option and instead is being trumped as one of the best things you could do for your body – which is excellent news when you head out on one of our pack-free guided walks!

Studies show that going for a brisk walk on a regular basis helps prevent obesity, lower your cholesterol, protect your memory and make you feel damn good! So why is walking just so good for you?

Helps with weight loss
The average estimate is you’ll use 100 calories per 15 minutes of walking at a brisk pace. By burning the calories and losing weight, you’re on your way to preventing other problems.

Reduces chance of obesity
Your genes can make you more likely to gain weight, but you can make them work in your favour. Researchers found that a one-hour walk every day is associated with a 0.06 kg/m2 reduction in the genetic effect on our body mass index.

Improves muscle tone
Walking tones your calf, hamstring, tibialis anterior, ankle extensor and quadricep muscles, boosting their strength and endurance so you can eventually do more exercise. You’ll also be toning the hip flexor, abdominal, gluteal (buttocks), arm and shoulder muscles.

Improves cardiovascular fitness
Like all muscles, the heart’s fitness will improve the more it is used, allowing it to pump blood around our bodies with increased efficiency. A study in 2001 suggested that one hour of brisk walking a week might cut women’s risk of coronary heart disease in half.

Lowers cholesterol
A daily walk raises levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, while a recent study indicated that participants who walked between 2.5 and four hours per week had less than half the prevalence of elevated total cholesterol levels than those who didn’t walk regularly.

Prevents osteoarthritis
A combination of walking and glucosamine sulphate supplements has been shown to improve physical function and reduce pain in one study, while another suggests that light exercise might help prevent osteoarthritis through weight loss.

Manages diabetes
Walking helps muscles absorb glucose, preventing it from building up in the bloodstream. By itself it won’t cure diabetes, but studies have suggested that, together with a change in diet, a walk every day can reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by up to 40 to 60 per cent.

Protects against cancer
A UK study has suggested 45 minutes of brisk walking could cut 5500 cases of breast cancer, while a US study indicated that men who walked regularly after being diagnosed with prostate cancer were nearly 60 per cent less likely to need a second round of treatment.

Reduces stress and depression
Exercise causes our bodies to release endorphins and serotonin, which helps regulate our moods, appetite and sleep patterns. Further studies have found that exercise also helps stimulate the growth of brain cells associated with memory and learning, a function hampered by depression.

Protects your memory
The hippocampus (the part of the brain involved in memory forming, organising and storing) will start to decrease around age 60, but in walkers it has been shown to increase over time instead. A study conducted over 13 years found that of 300 participants, 116 had developed some cognitive problems and the effects were 50 per cent greater for those who didn’t walk.

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