News briefs
Image: © Half Point/Thinkstock
Health guidelines recommend all of us get no less than two and a half hours every week of moderate activity. For many, this implies walking, which requires no special equipment or training. But even if you happen to can't make it to those 150 minutes, establishing a daily walking routine can extend your life, suggests a study published online Oct. 19, 2017. American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
Researchers checked out data from nearly 140,000 adults (average age about 70) who answered questionnaires about their exercise habits over the age of 13. Those who were inactive were 26 percent more prone to die in the course of the study than those that did some walking (as much as two hours per week) as their only type of activity. And those that walked more — no less than two hours per week — reduced their risk much more. The study is observational and doesn't prove that walking makes people live longer in the course of the study. However, we do know that walking reduces the danger of hypertension, high cholesterol, heart disease, cancer and diabetes. If you don't wish to run in cold weather, try running on a YMCA mall or indoor track, or use a house treadmill.