Improving Your Health One Step at a Time

Walking outside is great. You get to see nature, friends, and cute doggies. Walking inside on a treadmill or walking pad is also great. You get to listen to podcasts, raise your heart rate, and maybe even burn a few calories. Actually, a lot of calories. My walking pad claims I burn a few hundred calories an hour when walking briskly. Actually, walking is great exercise and is severely underrated.

One of the best parts of walking is that, for those without disabilities or other impediments, walking is easy. Keeping the head up, back straight, elbows bent, and stomach slightly flexed is great, but walking in any fashion you can is better than not walking. Unfortunately, in high-income countries like the United States, over 40% of adults (especially women) do not get enough physical activity.^[1] The World Health Organization recommends at least 2 ½ hours (150 minutes) of moderate-intensity exercise a week, with lower amounts needed for more strenuous exercise.^[1] To reach this goal, you could buy weights, get a bench, find a spotter, set up a couple plates, blah blah blah, or just put on some shoes and walk for 30 minutes a day.

Walking can provide health benefits similar to those of other exercises. Like other exercises, walking improves many risk factors for heart attack and stroke, including:^[2,3]

• Decreasing blood pressure
• Increasing vascular tone (blood vessel muscle strength)
• Decreasing weight and BMI (body mass index)
• Decreasing body fat percentage
• Decreasing blood sugar

Walking is also associated with a 30% reduced chance of developing type 2 diabetes.^[4] For those with type 2 diabetes, walking decreases blood sugar, HbA1C levels, and triglycerides.^[3] One study found that, for those with diabetes, walking right after a meal (post-meal walking)  is very effective for lowering blood sugar.^[5] Another study found that for some diabetics, post-meal walking may be as effective as prandial (mealtime) insulin.^[6] Older walkers may have moderately increased bone density, improved strength, improved gut microbiota profiles, and (for those who walk a lot) lower dementia rates.^[2,3,7]

Which begs the question, what does it mean to “walk a lot?” To measure the benefits of walking, many scientists use the number of steps a person takes. When counting steps, scientists have found that increasing the number of steps by 1,000 per day can lower the chances of cardiovascular events (like heart attack and stroke) and premature death by around 15%.^[8] These gains continue at pace until a person walks 7,000-9,000 steps per day, which reduces the chances of events and premature death by 50-60%.^[9] These benefits are consistent in men and women and persist for years after a walking regimen is implemented.^[10] The speed of walking also matters, with those who take more than 1 step per second (60/minute) having around 22% lower incidence of premature death compared to other walkers who take similar numbers of steps.^[9]

Walking is also good for more than just your body. There is some evidence showing that walking may help lower symptoms and protect against depression and anxiety.^[11] There is also emerging evidence that walking may reduce stress, improve well-being, and even decrease loneliness and isolation.^[11] Walking can improve sleep quality and may support better memory.^[12,13] These improvements come from an exercise that requires no equipment or skill needed to start. Exercising with a friend or in a group may also build and strengthen friendships and encourage you to keep showing up.

So walking is pretty awesome, and walking a lot is even better, but is it better than good old-fashioned pumping iron? It’s very different. High-intensity training is more effective than walking at improving bone density and protecting against dementia in older populations.^[2,14] On the other hand, studies show that walking is about as effective as other exercises for improving lower back pain and disability, improving quality of life, decreasing fear, and lowering the incidence of cardiovascular events.^[4,15] The reason walking is so effective, even when compared to lifting weights, is because the muscles involved are huge. When I curl a dumbbell, I’m using my biceps and forearm to lift around 35 pounds. When I take a walk, I’m using all of the muscles in my legs and butt and moving my full body weight. When you also consider the ease and low investment needed to take a walk, it’s a real breath of fresh air.

Creative Director Benton Lowey-Ball, MWC, BS, BFA

References:

[1] Guthold R, Stevens GA, Riley LM, Bull FC. Worldwide trends in insufficient physical activity from 2001 to 2016: a pooled analysis of 358 population-based surveys with 1· 9 million participants. The lancet global health. 2018 Oct 1;6(10):e1077-86.

[2] Ungvari Z, Fazekas-Pongor V, Csiszar A, Kunutsor SK. The multifaceted benefits of walking for healthy aging: from Blue Zones to molecular mechanisms. Geroscience. 2023 Dec;45(6):3211-39. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11357-023-00873-8

[3] Sung K, Bae S. Effects of a regular walking exercise program on behavioral and biochemical aspects in elderly people with type II diabetes. Nursing & health sciences. 2012 Dec;14(4):438-45.https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1442-2018.2012.00690.x

[4] Manson JE, Greenland P, LaCroix AZ, Stefanick ML, Mouton CP, Oberman A, Perri MG, Sheps DS, Pettinger MB, Siscovick DS. Walking compared with vigorous exercise for the prevention of cardiovascular events in women. New England journal of medicine. 2002 Sep 5;347(10):716-25. https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa021067

[5] Reynolds AN, Mann JI, Williams S, Venn BJ. Advice to walk after meals is more effective for lowering postprandial glycaemia in type 2 diabetes mellitus than advice that does not specify timing: a randomised crossover study. Diabetologia. 2016 Dec;59(12):2572-8. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00125-016-4085-2

[6] Suntornlohanakul O, Areevut C, Saetung S, Ingsathit A, Rattarasarn C. Glycemic effect of post-meal walking compared to one prandial insulin injection in type 2 diabetic patients treated with basal insulin: A randomized controlled cross-over study. PLoS One. 2020 Apr 1;15(4):e0230554. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0230554

[7] Morita E, Yokoyama H, Imai D, Takeda R, Ota A, Kawai E, Hisada T, Emoto M, Suzuki Y, Okazaki K. Aerobic exercise training with brisk walking increases intestinal bacteroides in healthy elderly women. Nutrients. 2019 Apr 17;11(4):868. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu11040868

[8] Banach M, Lewek J, Surma S, Penson PE, Sahebkar A, Martin SS, Bajraktari G, Henein MY, Reiner Ž, Bielecka-Dąbrowa A, Bytyçi I. The association between daily step count and all-cause and cardiovascular mortality: a meta-analysis. European journal of preventive cardiology. 2023 Dec;30(18):1975-85. https://doi.org/10.1093/eurjpc/zwad229

[9] Stens NA, Bakker EA, Mañas A, Buffart LM, Ortega FB, Lee DC, Thompson PD, Thijssen DH, Eijsvogels TM. Relationship of daily step counts to all-cause mortality and cardiovascular events. Journal of the American College of Cardiology. 2023 Oct 10;82(15):1483-94. https://www.jacc.org/doi/full/10.1016/j.jacc.2023.07.029

[10] Manfredini F, D'arrigo G, Lamberti N, Torino C, Tripepi G, Mallamaci F, Zoccali C. The legacy effect of a home walking exercise programme in kidney failure patients on dialysis. Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation. 2022 Oct;37(10):1974-81. https://doi.org/10.1093/ndt/gfac147

[11] Kelly P, Williamson C, Niven AG, Hunter R, Mutrie N, Richards J. Walking on sunshine: scoping review of the evidence for walking and mental health. British journal of sports medicine. 2018 Jun 1;52(12):800-6.

[12] Bisson AN, Robinson SA, Lachman ME. Walk to a better night of sleep: testing the relationship between physical activity and sleep. Sleep health. 2019 Oct 1;5(5):487-94. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sleh.2019.06.003

[13] Sng E, Frith E, Loprinzi PD. Temporal effects of acute walking exercise on learning and memory function. American Journal of Health Promotion. 2018 Sep;32(7):1518-25. https://doi.org/10.1177/0890117117749476

[14] Nakagawa T, Koan I, Chen C, Matsubara T, Hagiwara K, Lei H, Hirotsu M, Yamagata H, Nakagawa S. Regular moderate-to vigorous-intensity physical activity rather than walking is associated with enhanced cognitive functions and mental health in young adults. International journal of environmental research and public health. 2020 Jan;17(2):614. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17020614

[15] Vanti C, Andreatta S, Borghi S, Guccione AA, Pillastrini P, Bertozzi L. The effectiveness of walking versus exercise on pain and function in chronic low back pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized trials. Disability and rehabilitation. 2019 Mar 13;41(6):622-32. https://doi.org/10.1080/09638288.2017.1410730