Feb 2004
Walking Rivals Jogging for Heart Health
Moderate walking prevents disease as well as more strenuouis exercise does says a new report.
A large study published in the New England Journal of Medicine showed that women over 50 years who walked 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week, reduced their risk of having a heart attack just as much as women who jogged, played tennis, or did aerobics for an equal amount of time. Each group cut their risk by a third, regardless of age or weight.
It was noted, however, that a leisurely stroll won’t do. You need to walk at a moderate pace of 3 to 4 miles per hour to raise your heart rate to 60 to 80 percent of its maximum, noted JoAnn Manson, MD, DPH, chief of preventive medicine at Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the study’s lead researcher.
A pedometer that tracks speed is useful here. An alternative is to get in your car and drive 1 mile. Then walk that distance and time yourself. If you walk that distance in 20 minutes or less your pace is fast enough.
–adapted from Natural Health, March 2003.
