Walking Can Add Years to Life, Researcher Finds

Walking is good for health; it is less strenuous than running and helps condition heart and lungs. A new study has found that walking more than the recommended duration leads to longer, healthier life.

People in the U.S. are advised to get at least 2 hours and 30 minutes (150 minutes) of moderate physical activity a week along with muscle strengthening exercises two or more days a week, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The American Heart Association, too, recommends similar walking guidelines.

"An important question left to be answered is how much walking is beneficial," Paul Williams, from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, California, author of the study, told Reuters Health.

Data for the study was obtained from National Walkers' Health Study.  Williams looked at health records of 42,022 people, of which 33,586 were women. All the participants had completed a questionnaire detailing their walking habits and health.

By the end of the study, 2,448 or about 6 percent of the participants had died. Data analysis showed that people who walked more were more likely to have longer, healthier lives than people who didn't follow the walking recommendations.

Previous research, too, has shown that brisk walking can extend life. "Achieving the weekly exercise guidelines is good," Williams told Reuters, "but exceeding them is even better."

Williams has suggested that AHA change the current guidelines by recommending people to walk more- about five hours or more per week.

"The AHA has been very clear in specifying that the recommended guidelines are 'minimum' requirements to reduce the risk of heart-related diseases and death and has even provided guidelines for increased activity," María Simón, a fitness trainer and national spokesperson for the AHA said in an emailed comment to Reuters Health. "Nevertheless, I believe the take-home of this and similar studies is a positive one: 'Move . . . Just get up and move,'" Simón said.

The study is published in the journal PLos One.