Intensephysicalexerciseisnottheonlywaytobetterhealth.Studiesshowthatwalkingseveraltimesaweekcanlowerriskofmanydiseases.Theyincludeheartdisease,stroke,diabetes,boneloss,arthritis(关节炎),anddepression.Walkingalsocanhelpyouloseweight.

Fastwalkingisgoodfortheheart.Itlowersthebloodpressure.Itraisestheamountofgoodcholesterol（胆固醇）intheblood.Researcherssaywalkingcansharplyreducetheriskofsufferingaheartattack.

Studieshavealsoshownthatwalkingfor30minutesadaycandelayandpossiblypreventthedevelopmentofdiabetes.Peoplewhoareoverweighthaveanespeciallyhighrisktodevelopthisdisease.

Walkingstrengthensthemusclesandbuildsupthebonesthattheyareattachedto.Studiesshowthatwalkingcoulddecreasetheriskofdevelopingosteoporosis（骨质疏松症）.Walkingcanalsohelpeasethepainofarthritisinareaswherebonesarejoined.Thisisbecausewalkingstrengthensthemusclesaroundthebones.

Expertssaywalkingisoneofthesafestwaystoexercise.Thereisalowriskofinjuries.Soitisgoodforpeoplewhoarestartinganexerciseprogramforthefirsttimeandforolderpeople.

Awalkingprogramiseasytostart.Youshouldwearlooseclothesandgoodshoes.Thereareshoesthataredesignedespeciallyforlotsofwalking.

Howfastshouldyouwalk?Forthebesteffect,doctorssayyoushouldwalkfastenoughtocauseyoutobreathehard.Yetyoushouldstillbeabletotalk.Letyourarmsmovefreelywhileyouwalk.

Therearenorulestostartingawalkingprogram.Youmightwalkshortdistances.Oryoumightwalkuphillstostrengthenyourlegmuscles.Healthexpertssayyoucangainthemostfromawalkingprogramifyouwalkataboutfivekilogmetersanhourfor30minutesaday.Youshoulddothisaboutfivetimesaweek.

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