Walking is the perfect exercise: research shows that taking a brisk walk can benefit your heart, body, and mind--at any age.(http://walking.about. com)(www.nsga.org)

Publication: Food & Fitness Advisor

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Taking a walk seems like such a simple thing to do. Yet it can bring you amazing benefits, even if you've never been an exerciser. You'll have plenty of company as you step out. Exercise walking is the number one participation activity, according to a recently released report from the National Sporting Goods Association, Sports Participation, (www.nsga.org). Walking has been number one since 1990, says the report, and the data show that 86 million Americans walked for exercise in 2005 alone. Walking not only helps your heart work better, but can help with everyday (functional) fitness. A study reported in February by the University of South Florida, found women aged 66-96 who walked just two times a week for 16 weeks (as part of an age-appropriate fitness program) gained substantial improvements in multiple measures of functional fitness.

The popularity of walking is not surprising, says Lisa Callahan, MD, cofounder and medical director of the Women's Sports Medicine Center at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City and associate professor of clinical medicine at the Weill Medical College of Cornell University. "Walking is a wonderful exercise. You don't have to do a huge amount to get health benefits, particularly for the heart. Walking 30 minutes five days a week, or 60 minutes three days a week gives you enough aerobic and cardiovascular benefits. It's also very good for bone health and mental health," she notes.

"Everyone knows how to walk--you can do it any time, anywhere," adds Weimo Zhu, PhD, associate professor in the department of Kinesiology and Community Health...

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