The Benefits of 30 Minutes or More of Daily Brisk Walking

When: Daily

How Long: 30 miutes daily or 15 minutes 2x/day or 10 minutes 3x/day

Intensity: 3-6 METS or 150 Kcal/day energy expenditure

• walking 2.5 mph is 3 METS
• walking 3.5 mph (brisk) is 4 METS
• walking 4.0 mph is 5 METS
• walking 4.5 mph is > 6 METS

Benefits:

• Reduce the risk of Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) and atherosclerosis. If everyone walked for 30 minutes daily at 3-4 mph it would decrease the number of CVD deaths per year by 30% (284,886 deaths/year)
• Reduce the risk of Diabetes (Type 2) by 58% in persons at high risk
• Reduce risk of Stroke by 24% walking 2.5 hours per week as compared to non-exercisers. Further reduced the risk of Stroke by 46% walking 5 hours per week as compared to non-exercisers
• Reduce risk of breast cancer by 20% in White and African-American women who regularly exercise for 7-15 MET/week/year compared to inactive females.
• Reduced risk of mortality with patients who have been diagnosed with breast cancer by 25% compared to sedentary individuals. Further reduced risk by 50% if walked 3-8 hours per week
• Reduce resting blood pressure
• Reduce the risk of Pancreatic Cancer among overweight individuals with a BMI of 25kg/m2 or greater
• Reduce risk of Osteoporosis
• Reduce risk of Cholecystectomy (gall bladder removal) in women by 31%
• Reduced risk of depression among elderly adults.  In elderly adults classified with major depressive disorder, a 50% reduction of the disorder occurred after 4 months of an exercise program.
• Improved overall aerobic fitness and functional capacity
• Daily walking of 30 minutes for 12 weeks has been shown to lower overall body weight and decrease percent body fat
• If we just walked briskly 30 minutes each day, healthcare as we know it would radically change in this country

Currently, up to 2/3 of men and ¾ of women in the UK do not achieve this level of activity.

In the United States 32% of Non-Hispanic Blacks, 22% of Mexican-Americans, and 18% of Whites are considered to have a low fitness level.