Walking is arguably the cheapest sport around. That's good, since health professionals and public service announcements are always urging us to "walk more." They don't know how much I'm walking; how can they urge me to walk more? Maybe I'm walking too much already!
I doubt it, but that's not the point. Anyway, now we don't have to worry about that. A study published by the American College of Sports Medicine has the answer. The recommendation is particularly relevant for white women ages 40-66 since that's who participated in the study.
So what's the magic number? Ten thousand steps a day. If you try to walk that all at once, you probably won't be too happy. It's about five miles. But if you strap on a pedometer, you may be surprised how many steps you take in a day, just living your life. Once you know what you average, you can make up the difference by taking an intentional walk.
It seems worth it. The study found that women who take at least 10,000 steps a day are generally within the healthy body mass index (BMI) range. Maintaining a healthy body weight can help guard against heart disease, diabetes, and many cancers, including colon cancer. Why not give it a try?
Related Research:
- Studies Find that Exercise Increases Colon Cancer Survival Rate
- Study Explains Why Exercising Aids in Colon Cancer Survival
