Those familiar with walking’s many benefits will already know that it’s great for cardiovascular health. But the American Heart Association (AHA) has gone one step further…
It now recommends that a doctor’s first port of call for patients with mild to moderately high cholesterol and blood pressure should be to get them walking.
It says if the person is otherwise healthy, then this, along with other lifestyle changes, such as eating a better diet and quitting smoking, should be tried before other treatments.
"The first treatment strategy for many of these patients should be healthy lifestyle changes beginning with increasing physical activity," says Dr Bethany Barone Gibbs, who chaired the writing group for the AHA’s report. "Every little bit of activity is better than none. Even small initial increases of five to 10 minutes a day can yield health benefits."
