Walking can have a positive impact upon heart health
Global physical activity levels are declining according to the World Health Organization and something as simple as walking could reduce your heart health risk.
One in three Britons said they don’t know how much time they spend briskly walking at a speed faster than normal.
On World Heart Day, 29 September, the World Heart Federation is calling on men, women and children of all age groups to increase their physical activity in order to protect their heart health and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), including heart disease and stroke.
Dr Kathryn Taubert, Chief Science Officer, World Heart Federation, said: “Awareness is the first step to a healthy heart. Paying attention to how much we walk should be as simple as watching what we eat. On World Heart Day, we are urging people to take action to protect their hearts. By reaching the recommended guideline of minimum 30 minutes of moderate exercise, which includes brisk walking, at least five days a week, many premature deaths can be prevented.”
The new multi-national survey conducted in Brazil, China, India, Spain, UK and USA by the World Heart Federation reveals that in the UK over two thirds of British adults do not reach the recommended amount of 30 minutes of brisk walking per day, which is significantly more than people in Brazil and India where more than half of all adults do at least 30 minutes a day.
Also, men are significantly less likely to meet the minimum recommended guidelines on walking than women, 72 per cent of British males do less than the recommended amount of 30 minutes of brisk walking per day, compared to 63 per cent of women
In an age of smartphones and fitness tracking devices, it has never been easier to keep track of personal fitness. Studies have shown that people who wear pedometers increase their physical activity by almost 27 per cent.
In celebration of this year’s World Heart Day on 29 September, the World Heart Federation and Bupa, a leading international healthcare group, are launching a new global challenge and free walking app, to encourage people to get walking and keep walking. Entitled Ground Miles, the challenge will help to motivate people to take care of their heart health, while the app provides them with a tool to count the distance that they walk and reach their physical activity goals.
Johanna Ralston, CEO, World Heart Federation said: “We want to get people around the world walking, to reduce their risk of developing cardiovascular disease, including heart disease and stroke. Our goal is to encourage people to collectively walk 5 million miles (8 million kilometres) by the end of this year.”
Awareness around CVD risk factors such as physical inactivity, unhealthy eating, overweight/obesity and tobacco use is the first stage towards preventing the risk of heart disease and stroke. Regular moderate exercise – such as walking, cycling, or participating in sports – has many health benefits for the heart. Walking in particular is one of the least expensive and most broadly accessible forms of physical activity in the world. By reaching the recommended goal of minimum 30 minutes a day, five times a week of moderate exercise, the World Heart Federation says people can:
- Increase life expectancy – even 15 minutes a day of moderate exercise (which includes brisk walking) can have significant health benefits, adding up to three years to life expectancy
- Significantly reduce the risk of CVD – studies have shown reductions as high as 11 per cent
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Burn more fat than jogging – running an hour per day reduces the risk of heart disease by nearly five per cent; however people who expended the same amount of energy walking per day can reduce the risk of heart disease by more than nine per cent.
“Your feet can carry your heart very far in life”, summarised Dr Srinath Reddy, President, World Heart Federation.
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