Why Walking Is Important for Your Health

Walking1
If you think about exercise only in terms of intense cardio workouts such as running or biking, you may be missing out on the very health benefits you are trying to gain. In this blog post, Ronesh (Ron) Sinha, M.D., a PAMF internal medicine doctor, explains why the simplest exercises, such as walking, are the most important for our health.  
Re-evaluating Our Approach to Exercise
Back in the days when physical activity was a natural part of our life and daily habits, it was assumed that we took enough steps to interrupt the damaging metabolic effects of prolonged sitting frequently enough to disrupt fat storage and inflammation. So with this foundation of baseline essential non-exercise physical activity (NEPA), the recommendation was to add on an additional four to five exercise sessions a week. The core of NEPA includes activities like walking, climbing stairs, picking up objects off the ground and doing some squatting, all of which used to be a natural part of daily movement. It’s tragic that we now have to create a separate term for this (NEPA) and make a deliberate attempt to restore it into our daily, unnatural sedentary lifestyles.
Many of the patients doctors see today are lacking NEPA, which I simply quantify through daily steps using a pedometer or activity device. A 20-minute walk at lunch is better than nothing, but not nearly enough to get you to your NEPA goal. The bare essential daily minimum is 5,000 daily steps and optimal is 8,000-10,000 steps or more. I encourage you to know your number, and if you are not getting sufficient NEPA, prioritize that first.
Nearly All Health Risks Lowered
If you look at parts of the world where people live the longest, they aren’t doing intense daily cardio workouts, running or cycling countless miles, or attending bootcamps. They simply walk, stand, bend and squat more throughout the day, and do much of it outdoors. I also want to highlight that nearly all of the health risks I see in my patients can be improved by walking more steps.
Studies show that walking:
  • Lowers blood sugar and triglycerides after meals
  • Lowers inflammation
  • Modestly lowers body fat
  • Lowers stress and improves immunity
  • Prevents falls in the elderly
  • Increases longevity
What other evidence do you need to get you walking more?
The Gym Does Not Replace NEPA
Once you get your NEPA to a reasonable level, now you can start layering some cardio workouts and weight training a few times a week, but do not use those exercise sessions as a replacement for NEPA. A compilation of 18 studies, including nearly 800,000 people done by UK researchers, showed that prolonged sitting throughout the day doubled the risk of diabetes, heart disease and death despite moderate-to-vigorous exercise. Another study done in people 60 and older showed that regardless of exercise, every hour spent sitting doubled the risk of becoming disabled. Bottom line is 30 to 40 minutes on the elliptical doesn’t earn you 12 hours of sitting. Frequent, intermittent movement with the right eating strategy not only helps burn fat, but it also reduces inflammation, which is at the root of all chronic diseases (heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer’s, etc.) and premature aging. In addition, keep in mind that there is a growing body of evidence showing that continuous chronic endurance training may actually increase heart disease risk. If you are an avid distance runner or triathlete and want to live longer, it may be wiser to switch your running shoes for walking shoes every now and then. Don’t get me wrong. Achieving your endurance goals or a personal best in your favorite exercise (running, cycling, etc.) or sport is a great accomplishment, but keep in mind that the real accomplishment for most of us is longevity, disease prevention, and optimal brain and body health. For these goals, NEPA is absolutely essential.
SinhaR_2007Ronesh (Ron) Sinha, M.D., a Palo Alto Medical Foundationinternal medicine doctor, contributed this blog post. Dr. Sinha works closely with the South Asian community to help reduce heart disease and diabetes risk, and provides corporate health lectures to promote wellness in the workplace.


(courtesy: PAMF newsletter)

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