Why Walking Might Help You Live Longer

We all know that exercise is good for us, and yet with busy lives and other priorities, a lot of us still struggle to put any activity into our daily routine that raises our heart rate and helps keep us healthy. Even if we have an intention to exercise more, too many of us put that good plan aside because something more important comes up.

What can be more important than good health?

Cambridge University research has found that exercise is crucial in the longevity of human life and more important than obesity in terms of causing avoidable deaths. 4D Fitness respond to the findings.

A quick 20-minute walk each day can be effective in avoiding an early death following a study of over 334,000 people in a 12-year period which revealed the importance of exercise compared with bodyweight. The participants of this research had an average age of 50 and had their waist sizes, weight and height measured.

Physical inactivity contributed to double the number of deaths (334,000) among European males because of obesity, highlighting how necessary it is to regularly exercise. Other research has found that little exercise is related to getting heart disease and cancer.

June Davison, Senior Cardiac Nurse at the British Heart Foundation, said: “The research suggests that just a modest increase in physical activity can have health benefits. Adults should aim to do at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity activity a week, carrying it out in sessions of 10 minutes or more.”

Walking for just 20 minutes in a brisk manner can cut approximately 100 calories which further underlines the impact of doing this simple form of activity. Professor Ulf Ekelund, from the Medical Research Council Epidemiology Unit at Cambridge University believes exercise should be prioritised into daily routines. He said: "Although we found that just 20 minutes would make a difference, we should really be looking to do more than this - physical activity has many proven health benefits and should be an important part of our daily life."

A spokesperson for 4D Fitness, UK providers of personal training, agreed with Davison and Professor Ekelund on the benefits of exercise. They said: “Not only is exercise proven to improve your mood and reduce stress, it also helps keep your heart and other vital organs healthy. Walking does not cost anything, but is an easy method of exercising every day of your life.