This Is What Happens To Your Body If You Walk 2 Minutes Every Hour

Your legs where made for walking and that’s just what they need to do. The truth is walking is the best kind of fitness your body can get. Unfortunately, in today’s simplified world almost all work activities involve sitting for long periods of time. Luckily this article will focus on some steps you can take (Pun intended) to add walking fitness into your work and home life.

Rise And Shine:

Sitting for long periods of time has more adverse side effects than just a numb leg or two, if this lifestyle is not mitigated you could be putting yourself at risk for serious health issues that include; obesity, diabetes, hypertension, inflammation and atherosclerosis.

It’s easier than you think to add walking fitness into your daily routine and avoid the health issues listed above. All it takes is two minutes to break up the monotony of constant siting. By walking just two minutes every hour you will lower your risk of dying by 33 percent according to the University of Utah School Of Medicine.

The Numbers Don’t Lie:

The study consisted of 3,262 participants all wearing accelerometers to measure the level of their activity throughout the day. The research yielded data that suggests that even minor impacts like a short walk around the office, walking up and down a small flight of stairs or even just a simple trip to the coffee machine can have massive positive impacts on your health.

Although replacing your desk with a standing desk might seems like a great way to combat the adverse effects of sitting all day, stagnation is the real enemy in your challenge for better health. By adding a minimal walking fitness routine to your day to day work and home life you will be able to see significant health benefits in less time than you think.

Let’s say you are awake for about 16 hours a day, by adding in a 2 minute walking break every hour you will be able to accumulate a total of 32 minutes of walking every day. Multiply that by five work days, you end up with 160 minutes per work week of light activity.

Dr. Srinivasan Beddhu, says the more you can do in the week the better, “If you can do five minutes every hour, you can actually end up burning 1,000 additional calories a week.”

The study also revealed that people with kidney disease showed a 41 percent decrease in risk of death during the study. The periods of movement have proven to increase the cardiovascular and strength to varying degrees of previously sedentary individuals.

The results of this study also reveal that while low impact activity is effective in improving health. More vigorous exercise is still need for optimal health levels. The United States federal guidelines recommend having at least 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity every week.

So, take a walk on the wild side and get healthy while you do it.

For more information on how walking fitness can better your life visit NPR