Walking for Health: Why a Daily Walk Is Worth It

Walking rarely gets the credit it deserves. It has no membership fee, no learning curve and no special kit, which may be why it is so easily overlooked as exercise.

Yet the NHS describes walking as one of the easiest ways to get more active and become healthier, and brisk walking counts in full towards the activity that adults are advised to do each week. For many people it is the most realistic route from doing very little to doing enough.

Why walking works

Walking briskly raises your heart rate and makes you breathe faster. That puts it in the category of moderate-intensity activity, alongside cycling and swimming, and brings the same kind of benefits: a lower risk of heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes, better mood, and better sleep. Our guide to the benefits of regular physical activity covers these in detail.

It also has practical advantages that other forms of exercise lack:

• it is free;
• it can be done almost anywhere, at any time of day;
• it is easy on the joints compared with running;
• it fits into things you already have to do, such as travelling to work or going to the shops;
• it is easy to do with someone else.

How fast is brisk?

The benefits come from walking briskly, not strolling. The NHS puts a brisk walk at about 3 miles an hour, which is roughly 5 kilometres an hour. The CDC counts walking at 2.5 miles an hour or faster as moderate-intensity activity.

You do not need to measure your speed. Both use the same simple check, the talk test: you are walking briskly if you can still talk but cannot sing the words to a song. If you can sing, speed up a little. If you cannot talk, ease off.

Your "brisk" depends on your fitness. A pace that is moderate for one person may be hard for another. Use your own breathing as the guide.

How much should you walk?

Adults are advised to do at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity a week. Walking can supply all of it. Thirty minutes of brisk walking on five days is one common way to get there.

You do not have to begin at that level. The NHS notes that a brisk ten-minute walk every day has lots of health benefits and counts towards your 150 minutes. Three ten-minute walks spread through the day are as useful as one thirty-minute walk.

What about 10,000 steps?

The figure of 10,000 steps a day is everywhere, but it did not come from medical research. A large analysis published in The Lancet Public Health in 2022 began by noting that there is little evidence to support that specific number.

The researchers pooled data from 15 studies covering more than 47,000 adults. They found that taking more steps a day was associated with a progressively lower risk of death, up to a point:

• for adults aged 60 and over, the benefit levelled off at about 6,000 to 8,000 steps a day;
• for adults under 60, it levelled off at about 8,000 to 10,000 steps a day.

Two things follow. First, you do not need 10,000 steps to benefit; substantially fewer still helps, particularly if you are older. Second, the largest improvement was between the least active group and the next one up. Moving from very few steps to a moderate number matters most.

This kind of study shows an association and cannot prove that the steps themselves caused the difference. It does fit with everything else known about activity and health. If you like counting steps, use the count as a way to notice your own progress, not as a daily exam.

Getting started

Wear comfortable shoes. The NHS advice is that any shoes or trainers that are comfortable, give adequate support and do not cause blisters will do.

Start with what you can manage. If you are not very active, increase your distance gradually.

Walk tall. Look ahead, keep your shoulders relaxed, and let your arms swing naturally.

For longer walks, take water, and in sunny weather a hat and sunscreen.

Making it a habit

The easiest way to walk more is to build it into your day so that it does not depend on finding spare time. The NHS suggests:

• walking part of your journey to work;
• walking to the shops;
• using the stairs instead of the lift;
• leaving the car behind for short journeys;
• walking children to school;
• doing a regular walk with a friend;
• going for a stroll with family or friends after dinner.

A few other things help:

• Attach it to a fixed point in your day, such as straight after breakfast or during your lunch break.
• Listen to something. Music or a podcast can make the time pass and help you keep a steady pace.
• Vary the route. Parks, canal paths, riverside walks and quiet streets all make a change.
• Walk with others. Many areas have walking groups, which add company and a regular commitment.

For more on why some routines last and others fade, see How to build fitness habits you will actually keep.

Staying safe

• Where there is no pavement, walk facing oncoming traffic, and wear something bright or reflective in poor light.
• In hot weather, walk early or late, and drink water.
• In icy conditions, choose cleared routes and shoes with good grip.
• Tell someone where you are going if you are walking somewhere remote.

A walk is enough

It is easy to assume that exercise only counts if it is hard, sweaty and scheduled. The evidence says otherwise. A brisk walk, most days, is real exercise with real benefits, and it is the form most people are able to keep up for life.

If you take one thing from this guide, let it be the smallest version: ten brisk minutes, today.