textSize : default : medium : large    Cats do it, dogs do it, Netherlanders in their clogs do it. Let's do it, lets take a walk. Some bike it, but don't like it. They would rather wear their boots and hike it. Let's do it, let's take a walk. Dickens did it, Ghandi did it, Thomas Jefferson, too. Hippocrates in ancient Greece did it And now it's time for you. Put on your ped and do it, get off your bed and do it. Don't turn on the tube and say, 'Oh screw it'. Let's do it. Let's just take a walk.         With apologies to Noel Coward Walking is the most natural and accessible exercise we have. Ever since we've been researching the benefits of physical activity, study after study has proven the health benefits of walking. Jobs that involve walking have always proved to be healthier than sedentary jobs. But in an era where communities are designed for wheels rather than shoes, and where houses, worksites, shopping malls and entertainment venues are as efficient and step-free as possible, we are developing a society that is overweight and unfit because they're starving for steps. Everywhere's in walking distance, if you have the time. ~Steven Wright The Amish Way Dr. David Bassett put pedometers on 98 adults in an Amish community. The men averaged 18,425 steps a day and the women just over 14,000. Despite the fact that the men consume about 3,500 calories a day, only 25% of the men were overweight, and none was obese, among the women 27% were overweight with 9% obese. The fact that the Amish eat 33% more than a typical North American but show much less than half the incidence of overweight and obesity is testimony to the importance of walking and physical activity. The study was published recently in the Journal of Medicine and Science. The sovereign invigorator of the body is exercise and of all the exercises walking is the best. Thomas Jefferson Walking and Weight Control Around the World The editors of Self Magazine were intrigued to read a quote by Dr. John Puchar of Rutgers University that, "roughly 25% of Americans are obese, while only 7% of Europeans are." Puchar felt the reason was that, on average, Europeans walk three times as much as Americans. Puchar noted the following: Holland - 45% of daily travel on foot or by bicycle. Sweden - 33% of daily travel on foot, 10% by bicycle. France and Italy - More than 25% of their daily travel is on foot. USA - Roughly 5% of people's comings and goings are on foot. Dr. Andrea Dunn of the Cooper Institute says, "Today the average US woman burns 700 to 800 fewer calories a day than she did 25 years ago, and it's largely because we don't walk anywhere, anymore." [Martin's Note: The 700 to 800 calorie number seems high to me, I would have thought something closer to 300 calories.] Dana Sullivan picked out representative women in various countries and had them wear a Sportbrain pedometer, the findings speak for themselves. STEPS Mia Petree, 33, Arlington, Virginia (Garden work, shopping) 4.138 Florence Labedays, 59, Paris (Train to and from work, shopping, errands, evening out. Does not use a car) 13,522 Maria Kostaki, 27, Athens (Walk to and from metro, errands, 8 hours bar tending/waitressing) 28,879 Kristen Harris, 30, Hong Kong (Lives on an island where no cars are allowed, walks to and from the ferry) 10.599 Ramatu Ahmed, 22, Aiban, Niger (visited a friend by walking to the next village; about a 2 hour walk) 14,099 The above are not scientific, but are fairly typical; without significant walking as part of your daily commute and without setting aside time for purposeful walking, it is not easy to get more than 5000 steps in our energy saving North American culture. Walking is the best medicine. ~ Hippocrates (460 BC - 377 BC) There Must be 50 Ways to Lose Your Blubber Just get off the bus Gus, Put on some new shoes Suze, Pick up the pace, Ace. Your body's a disgrace. There must be 50 ways to lose your blubber. Go on a hike, Mike. Cut out the carbs, Barb. 10,000 a day, Ray. You know what I say, There must be 50 ways to lose your blubber.       With apologies to Paul Simon Here are a few thoughts on how to get more steps into your life. Readers of 'Well' are asked for more suggestions to get us up to 50. Use the stairs instead of the elevator. Walk as many errands as you can. Walk between flights at airports. Park your car in the far corner of parking lots. Walk your dog. Walk around the room during every commercial break on TV. Take extra trips to load shopping into your car, or put out the recycling bins. Walk with your children. Walk your kids to school. Get a home treadmill. Walk around your house or apartment and make one improvement on each walk. Have walking meetings at work instead of sitting in an office. Walk to work, or part of the way to work. Use public transport so that you have to walk to and from the bus or train. Give yourself a walking reward on the completion of a task. Take a walk after dinner. (This used to be called a post prandial stroll) Arrange a social walk with a friend. Plan a vacation that includes walking or hiking. Volunteer to walk dogs at the local pound. Buy a pedometer and monitor your steps. Treat yourself to a good pair of shoes. Good shoes are important. If you find a shoe you like and that works for you, buy 2 or 3 pairs because styles change so fast. I like Nike, I really like their style. Put some Nikes on your feet Make your ankles smile. [click the guitar to hear an mp3 file of Martin singing this verse of the Nike song] The Omron Healthcare Diabetes in Control, 10,000 Step Study Patients were given an Omron pedometer and encouraged to walk 10,000 steps a day for 3 months. Forty-four diabetic patients completed the study with some very positive results. THE RESULTS: Out of the patients who started, 44 patients completed the 3-month study with startling results. Not only did their blood glucose and A1C (a marker of diabetes) improve, but they also improved their lipids, lowered their blood pressure and lost some weight. They also had more energy, had less general pain, had more flexibility and all 44 patients plan to continue using the pedometer after the study. E.W. Gregg, PhD of the Division of Diabetes, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and his colleagues investigated the association between walking and the risk of all causes of death, and death due to cardio-vascular disease among people with diabetes. "Walking was associated with lower mortality [death rates] across a diverse spectrum of adults with diabetes," wrote the authors. "One death per year may be preventable for every 61 people who could be persuaded to walk at least 2 hours per week." In an accompanying editorial, Frank B. Hu, MD, PhD, of Harvard School of Public Health, said, "Persuasive evidence from epidemiologic studies and clinical trials demonstrates substantial benefits of exercise, especially walking, in the prevention and treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Because walking is accessible, is relatively safe, and can easily be incorporated into a daily routine, it is a form of exercise that is practical and suitable for most individuals, including women, diabetic patients, and the elderly. To read the complete article, go to www.diabetesincontrol.com/studies/step.shtml Walking and Working I always feel a bit envious of people whose job helps keep them in shape. We put a pedometer on our letter carrier, Mike, who, on a slightly shortened route, did 18,598 steps in about 2 hours and 40 mins. The Omron pedometer registered 695 calories, but it would be more than that as he's toting a heavy bag of mail. Mike said the only downside to his job is that when he takes a vacation and stops walking he puts on a few pounds. My gardener, Cheryl, logs over 20,000 steps a day, plus plenty of upper body work. She is going back to a reunion at the high school from which she graduated 22 years ago. I said to her, "I bet you look about the same as when you graduated." Her reply was, "No, I've lost about 20 lbs." Not something that most of her former classmates will be able to say. Cheryl recently got I.D'd at a bar and she is more than 20 years over the BC drinking age. We do so well when we're active and struggle so much when we're sedentary. Upcoming Attraction We are working on making the Speakwell site more interactive. In the coming months, you will be able to record your step-count, check your BMI and record your comments about the effectiveness of various brands and models of pedometers. A Package Deal on Walking The American Diabetes Association sells a boxed package with the theme, "Small Steps, Big Rewards". It's good to see the D.O.G.S. (Disease and Organ Groups. e.g. Diabetes Assn., Heart and Stroke, Cancer Society etc.) really get behind prevention initiatives. For many years, a huge percentage of their budgets has gone to fund the creation of procedures and pharmaceuticals, which will 'cure' or 'control' an illness or condition. There is now a growing recognition that the real 'cure' is in a healthy, active lifestyle, and that there is a much bigger pay-off to keeping people healthy, rather than trying to fix the sick. The A.D.A. box contains a step-counter, reminding you to do "10,000 steps per day". I've just had the one package, so I can't generalize about the accuracy of the step counters. However, the one that came in my box consistently showed about half the number of steps I actually did. The consistency suggests that the mechanism is fine, but there is no way to adjust it to reflect my actual number of steps. I like the fact that a spare battery is included. The box also contains a common sense booklet written by Sherrye Landrum. The cover of the booklet says, "Expert Advice and Scientific Research". In order to be easy to read, the scientific research is understandably not mentioned, but I'd like to have seen references to some major walking and exercise studies, so that interested readers could look them up. The booklet is published by Small Steps press (no web site yet), which is a publishing arm of the A.D.A., initially printing books on lifestyle and the prevention of diabetes. These books are targeted for the general public, not for diabetics or people with metabolic syndrome. It took me a while to figure this out and I was wondering why there was nothing about monitoring blood sugar or other information relevant to diabetes and exercise. Looked at as a walking and exercise stimulus for the general public, the booklet generally does a good job with common sense ideas and references to some useful websites and resources. Minor criticisms include: Uninspired illustrations, which make it look like a government publication. e.g. The picture of the pedometer bears absolutely no resemblance to the pedometer in the box. (Although the generalized instructions can be applied to the Small Steps/Big Rewards pedometer.) To avoid confusion the opening paragraphs should emphasize that this booklet is designed for the prevention of diabetes and not specially for people with diabetes. (Most people don't read the small print.) In the Resources section along with yoga and stretching, it would have been helpful to include a book or video on the use of the exercise ball, which is one of the most versatile pieces of fitness equipment. Out of the box at $7.95 US, I think the booklet is overpriced. (Five dollars would have been more realistic). The box (including pedometer, booklet and spare battery) can be ordered from the American Diabetes Association. Order code 5012-01. Information can be obtained from Lee Romano Sequeira Tel: (703) 299-2046. I had a hard time finding ordering information on the ADA web site, but eventually found it at store.diabetes.org. As noted, the cost is $19.95 US, which I feel is acceptable, especially if any profit goes into supporting positive lifestyle programs and diabetes research. However, I think putting the money towards a really good pedometer might be a better investment, although before committing myself to that I'd like to check out a few more of the "Small Steps, Big Rewards" pedometers. Stairway to Health By Stephen Grundy www.healthcanada.ca/stairwaytohealth Stairway to Health is a newly launched web-based resource developed to increase physical activity in the workplace through stair climbing. Activities like stair climbing can significantly contribute to the 30 minutes of physical activity we all need... everyday, plus... Stair climbing is easy to do in most workplaces. It requires no special equipment to participate. Moderate intensity lifestyle activities like taking the stairs may be more successfully promoted than structured vigorous intensity exercise. Two flights of stairs climbed per day can lead to 2.7 kg weight loss over one year and using the stairs burns twice as many calories as walking. Taking the stairs is often faster than waiting for the elevator and a great way to re-energize throughout the day. Registering is easy and free! Visit the Stairway to Health website to: Climb virtual mountains and famous buildings Download point of choice posters to encourage stair use Select challenges, create newsletters and manage your participant data View stair climbing success stories from other workplaces Get information on planning events, increasing stair use, design considerations, safety, hiring students, posting signage and much, much more. Visit the website today at: www.healthcanada.ca/stairwaytohealth Stairway to Health is a partnership between Health Canada, and the Canadian Council for Health and Active Living at Work (CCHALW).