What are the health benefits of walking? How effective is it in tackling obesity?
Tom Franklin: It’s difficult to overstate the health benefits of regular walking. If a pharmaceutical company invented a ‘wonder drug’ which, if taken by the whole population, would cut obesity, and reduce deaths from coronary heart disease by over a third, people would be clamouring for it on the NHS. Walking does that, and it also reduces cases of osteoarthritis, helps older people gain strength and balance to reduce bone fractures, dramatically cut diabetes and cardiovascular disease, reduce levels of breast and colon cancer and is proven to lift the mood. It burns up the same amount of calories per mile as jogging, and the government recommends 30 minutes brisk walking a day, five times per week as enough to maintain fitness. Where walking really has the edge on elite sport or specialised exercise, is that it is so accessible. It’s free, and because it can be so easily tailored to fit the individuals pace, it is ‘non-threatening’ for people who are just embarking on an exercise rou
