10,000 steps away from fitness

U.S. health professionals, in their quest to make fitness and health easier to understand, have adopted a 10,000-steps-a-day guideline for people looking to get fit.

This guideline is adapted from a long-held Japanese belief. Although this seems like a one-size-fits-all program, the elderly are encouraged to walk less, while young people are encouraged to walk more. Typically, 10,000 steps is about a half hour of walking plus your regular activity.

Considering North Americans' obsession with numbers, this is a great way to add exercise to your daily routine.

Buy yourself a pedometer and go. Think this is too simple to work? Well, a Standford University study found that those who adopted the 10,000-step goal increased the number of steps they took by 27%.

Walk Your Way To Health

A Japanese study has confirmed that an at-home, unsupervised exercise program can improve fitness and well being.

According to Dr. Nozomi Okamoto of the Nara Medical University School of Medicine, adults instructed to walk aerobically for at least 20 minutes, at least twice a week and to increase the total number of steps they walked daily showed significant gains in stamina, vitality and mental health after 32 weeks.

Okamoto also said that the benefits of the program were "comparable" to those that would be seen with a standard supervised exercise program.

So if you can't afford the gym or don't know how to where to begin your quest for health, start with a 20-minute walk.

This might not be rocket sience but I especially love this story because both my parents have recently begun a daily walking regimen and I couldn't be prouder!

Boots, Start Walking

People who use pedometers while walking will lose weight even without changing their diet, according to a University of Michigan Health System analysis of nine studies.

Participants in the study increased the distance they walked by one mile to slightly more than two miles each day, just by being conscious that they were keeping track of their activities.

“The amount of weight loss attributable to pedometer-based walking programs is small but significant,” says lead author Caroline R. Richardson, M.D., assistant professor in the University of Michigan Health System Department of Family Medicine. She also noted that the rate of weight loss increased in the participants who stuck to the program for a longer period of time.

Considering you can get basic pedometers for the price of a latte, maybe we should all be walking around with one on our belt.