While we know that walking is an excellent exercise for improving health and general fitness, most of aren’t sure about how long to do it, and how vigorous it needs to be - but now we do.
Researchers have figured out the optimum amount – and intensity – of walking that will make a positive difference.
They reckon we need to walk for 30 minutes, five days a week – and that we need to achieve a pace of 100 steps a minute, or 3000 steps in 30 minutes.
Researchers from San Diego State University say that people starting out should walk for no more than 10 minutes a day, achieving 1000 steps each time, before walking for longer periods.
The steps are based on walking across level ground, and there is also a very slight variance between the sexes, with men needing to walk between 92 and 102 steps a minute, and women walking at a tempo of between 91 and 115 steps.
(Source: American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 2009; doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2009.01.021).