Walking - Your best bet for staying fit during the pandemic

Have you gained a few extra pandemic pounds? You’re not alone. Spending more time at home eating comfort food while dealing with enormous amounts of stress, is bound to cause an upward tick on the weight scale. Add to this mix, gym and workout center closures for weeks on end abruptly halting exercise efforts, didn’t help.

COVID-19 has certainly reshaped not only our lives but our bodies. Yet, physical fitness should not take a back seat, even during a pandemic. Engaging in regular, consistent exercise enhances immune functioning, exactly what you need during a viral pandemic, helping you stay strong and healthy during these uncertain times.

That’s why a walking workout is an ideal choice for keeping in shape and excess weight in check. It’s the easiest and safest way to not only get outdoors but to enjoy immediate benefits right away. In fact, it was Hippocrates who came up with the statement, “Walking is man’s best medicine.” Since his time and until today, walking is still the best physical activity the majority of people can do to benefit their health. Other than a good pair of walking shoes, it’s inexpensive, and can be done most anywhere on your own time and at you own pace.

The more a person walks, the greater the health perks. Even if you are just beginning a walking program, every little bit helps making a significant difference to your health.

There are many benefits walking provides that particularly stand out – put on your walking shoes and let’s get started:

· Reduced mortality – When it comes to extending our lives, walking is one way we can manipulate that factor. Studies are showing that when a sedentary person begins walking for exercise regularly, just going from 1,000 to 3,000 steps a day can reduce their mortality by 12%. Those who log at least 10,000 steps a day cut their risk by 46%. A study out of Australia followed more than 2,500 Australians with an average age of 59 for over 10 years and found that the more steps one achieved in a day, the higher their mortality rate.

Studies like this demonstrate the power of walking and of being physically active to help extend our life.

· Reduced heart failure risk – Heart failure is a chronic condition in which the heart is unable to supply enough blood to meet the body’s demands. More than 5.1 million Americans have this condition.

Studies have shown a linear relationship between increased physical activity and reduced heart failure risk. People who take up walking for physical activity at the current minimum recommendation of 150 minutes a week had a modest reduction in the rate of heart failure. But those who doubled their activity time or increased the intensity level or a combination of both had a 20% lower risk of heart failure. If a person quadrupled the minimum recommendation, there was even a greater reduction of 35%.

· Improved cognitive functioning – Our brain benefits big time from regular daily walks which improves our aerobic fitness. A study published in NeuroImage, linked aerobic fitness in older men to more efficient brain activity. A total of 60 men ages 64 to 75 who had no signs of cognitive impairment, were recruited by researchers from the University of Tsukuba in Japan and were tested for their aerobic fitness. Each man performed a submaximal incremental exercise test to determine their oxygen intake at ventilatory threshold in order to determine their aerobic fitness. During this time each man was given a series of mental tests such as being shown the word “red” in blue type and having to press keys matching the word rather than the color type.

Men who were in the best aerobic fitness performed more like someone much younger would by being more accurate and having faster keystrokes. Younger brains tend to perform such tests primarily in the left hemisphere. The older men though needed their right brains to complete the tasks – except for the older men who were in the best physical shape.

Even though the study was not designed to prove cause and effect, it does suggest that having better aerobic fitness is associated with improved cognitive functioning.

· Improved knee osteoarthritis – Walking can be one of the best treatments for this painful condition. Instead of avoiding exercise, embrace it. A 2019 study found that people with knee osteoarthritis who performed moderate physical activity (including walking) for at least one hour a week over four years shown an association with a significant reduction in disability, compared to inactive people.

· Stress reduction - Going for a brisk walk, especially outdoors, has a synergistic effect ways a 2018 study. Walking briskly in a scenic locale appeared to improve mood while lowering stress just as much as a short bout of meditation.

· Less low back pain – Dealing with low back pain? Walking can help. Ease yourself into it but according to a review and meta-analysis of randomized trials in a 2017 study, researchers found that walking was as effective as other forms of exercise at reducing pain and disability and improving quality of life in those suffering from low back pain.

Before beginning a walking program or any type of physical activity, check with your physician to determine how to get started and what type of exercise to begin with.

Dr. David Samadi is the Director of Men’s Health and Urologic Oncology at St. Francis Hospital in Long Island. He’s a renowned and highly successful board certified Urologic Oncologist Expert and Robotic Surgeon in New York City, regarded as one of the leading prostate surgeons in the U.S., with a vast expertise in prostate cancer treatment and Robotic-Assisted Laparoscopic Prostatectomy. Visit Dr. Samadi’s websites at robotic oncology and prostate cancer 911.