Experts have long encouraged moderate or vigorous walking to improve overall health. However, new research published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that even some walking is better than none for reducing all-cause mortality in older adults.
Walking as the only form of physical activity, even at fewer than 2 hours per week, also was significantly associated with lower rates of death from respiratory disease, cardiovascular disease, or cancer compared with inactivity. The authors noted that these effects were similar when comparing by participant sex, baseline age, body mass index, prevalent disease status and leisure-time sitting.
Getting people to walk more may take more than sparking interest and motivation – it also may require stronger efforts to create environments that make walking easy or merely possible. (Which is being done in The Villages).
