Walking 30 minutes a day, five days a week is the first step toward better health. This simple, take-charge message comes from Every Body Walk!, a public awareness project aimed at starting a national conversation about the health benefits of walking.
Presently, more than 70 percent of all adult Americans lead sedentary lifestyles. This is significantly impacting the overall health of our country, which spends more then $2.5 trillion annually on medical care. An estimated 80 percent of that figure is spent on treating chronic conditions that can be prevented or treated by regular walking.
The aim of the Every Body Walk! campaign is to inform Americans about the tremendous health benefits of walking. Walking is an excellent form of exercise for everyone and for those with conditions like diabetes, asthma, heart disease and depression, a regular walking regimen has the added benefit of helping to manage these diseases.