Step-By-Step Guide to a Stroll

Just 30 minutes of moderate walking five days a week can have dramatic long-term health benefits -- reducing blood pressure, body fat and cholesterol levels, and our risks of developing heart disease, cancer and dementia -- according to Dr. Mark Hamer, an expert in exercise physiology at University College London.

"When we start to walk, the adrenal glands, situated close to the kidneys, release adrenaline into the blood, pushing up the heart rate and increasing blood supply to the major leg muscle groups, the quadriceps (thighs) and the calves (the backs of the lower legs)," he says.

"Breathing increases as the activity demands more oxygen supply to the muscles. The average person has a resting heart rate of around 75 beats per minute.

"Moderate walking -- between one and three miles per hour at a brisk pace, but not so fast you become breathless -- pushes this up to between 120 and 140 beats per minute, depending on fitness levels."

Because of the increased physical activity, body temperature rises and we may even start to sweat to maintain a core temperature of around 98.6 degrees.

"There are immediate benefits," says Dr. Hamer. "We tend to feel better after a brisk walk, although it's not been scientifically proven, it's probably because of raised levels of the 'feel-good' chemical dopamine in the brain, caused by exercising."

There are also long-term benefits. By walking for 30 minutes four or five times a week for five months, you can expect a 2 percent reduction in blood pressure.

Source: Mail on Sunday; London (UK). Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. Powered by YellowBrix.