Health Benefits of Walking

Walking is a low impact way to exercise that is good for just about anyone. People of every age and ability will find walking a great way to reap health benefits. Regular walking is beneficial for helping keep your heart and cardiovascular system working properly. This helps greatly reduce the risk of both stroke and heart disease. Because it can help lower “bad” cholesterol, it can help keep blood pressure within normal. Not only does it help prevent heart disease, walking can also help reduce the risk of other diseases like type 2 diabetes and some types of cancer.

Another reason many people engage in walking is to help lose weight or maintain a healthy weight. Walking can help increase muscle tone and mass so that you increase your metabolism and burn more calories doing other daily activities. Walking can also help build strength in your legs, calves, glutes and hamstrings. It is considered to be one of the weight-bearing activities, which means it can help strengthen the bones and protect against osteoporosis.