14: The Science-Based Benefits of Walking

Master Your Health Podcast

While we often promote HIIT training and strength training, we forget about the great benefits of simply just going for a walk. This episode is a powerful reminder of how beneficial adding in some extra steps to your day can be. We also share some ideas for how to incorporate walking into your daily routine.

In this episode you’ll learn:

• About the health benefits of walking
• Why it’s important for your health to take breaks and walk throughout the day
• Why walking is a great way to start if you’re new to working out
• How walking can help prevent and fight obesity, which is linked to tons of health issues
• That sedentary time has been shown to be a risk factor for a host of health issues like diabetes, cardiovascular disease and more
• Why it’s important to create healthy habits at a young age if possible, as obesity in adulthood is linked to many health issues
• That walking has been shown to boost creativity
• Walking outdoors is linked to other health benefits like sun exposure and vitamin D
• That moderate daily exercise has been linked to a lower risk of coronary heart disease
• How walking has been shown to help relieve joint pain
• Why incline walking is beneficial to help reduce stress on the body
• Regular walking can help cut the effects of weight promoting genes
• That walking can boost your energy levels
• Walking is correlated with having less illnesses and getting sick less frequently
• Some studies have shown walking after meals to help with blood sugar levels

References from the episode:

• Obesity was linked to health issues in this 2016 study: https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html
• 2012 meta-analysis showed that sedentary time was linked to increased disease risk: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22890825
• 2014 Journal of Experimental Psychology found walking to boost creativity: https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2014-14435-001
• 2009 meta-analysis linked walking with lower risk of coronary heart disease: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19306107
• 2013 meta-analysis examined the connection between walking and improved knee pain: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5074793/
• Harvard study showed moderate daily walking to cut the effects of weight promoting genes: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/03/120314142833.htm
• 2017 study published in Physiology & Behavior linked stair exercise to boost energy in young women more than a low dose of caffeine: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0031938416310666
• This correlation study showed walking to be linked with fewer sick days: https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/45/12/987?sid=fe62a8c5-430b-4506-b854-20b62e8a5e9e
• This small 2013 study found that a 15 min walk after each meal to be effective at improving blood sugar levels: https://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/early/2013/06/03/dc13-0084