Step It Up

A recent study published in the May issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine has shown that walking can reduce the incidence of the metabolic syndrome. Never mind that it is hotly debated whether the metabolic syndrome is actually syndrome, it is clear that its components of abdominal obesity, hyperglycemia, high blood pressure and abnormal blood lipids are not conducive to a long and healthy life. In the study over 1400 people were monitored during their daily activities with accelerometers to determine their activity levels. The participants were categorized as sedentary (<5000),>10000) depending on how many steps they took each day. Not surprisingly 56% of those who were sedentary met criteria for the metabolic syndrome whereas only 13% in the highly active met criteria. Those in the somewhat active group were at intermediate risk for the syndrome. Simply put the more walking the better for metabolism which almost certainly reduces the risk for developing cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Although there is good evidence that humans were designed to run, walking seems to be a pretty good alternative.