You’ve heard about the amazing health benefits of walking every day haven’t you? They truly are mind blowing.

But, but, but … 10,000 steps a day!! Really!!

Is that remotely possible with our crazy busy lives we’re struggling to hold together?

Well, yes it is, but MORE importantly we do NOT have to walk 10,000 steps a day to enjoy the massive benefits of walking.

A 10 minute walk – 1,000 steps – lowers blood sugar levels in diabetes patients. A 20 minute nature walk – 2,000 steps – can improve the concentration level of ADHD kids as much as medication. A 30 minute daily walk – 3,000 steps – reduces heart disease risk by 20%.

Wow!!! Seriously, wow!!!

So, if you want your whole family to enjoy the phenomenal benefits of walking forget about all those 10,000 step challenges.

And focus instead on this simple, sustainable alternative with big impact : walk the mile.

It can transform our family’s health AND save the planet by slashing our carbon footprint. AND it sets our kids up for life because kids who walk daily become adults who walk daily.

Again, seriously wow!!

But how does walk the mile work? It’s brilliantly simple I promise you. We can all do it.

1. Walk The Mile

You see it’s like this; in London – where I live – 1 in 3 car journeys are roughly a mile or less.

It’s pretty much the same in cities worldwide.

In the last 50 years we all got into this crazy habit of hopping in cars for super short journeys. It’s had crazy results causing :

Huge rises in obesity & chronic conditions
Dangerous urban pollution levels
Missed development milestones in kids
Major mental health issues because we rush around so fast our brains can’t keep up
Community breakdown because we simply don’t bump into our neighbours

All pretty depressing, heh?

BUT these nasties are easy to change instantly by sticking to the simple rule : walk the mile.

Just imagine, if we ALL pledged from tomorrow, to ditch the car for short journeys and walk the mile we could cut car pollution in cities like London by 30% over night!!!

That would have a major impact on the carbon footprint of our cities and towns.

AND would deliver to our families all these amazing health benefits of walking.

2. Walking Benefits

Walking Benefits For Children

Gross motor development : walking outdoors every day develops essential gross motor skills in under fives.
Classroom concentration : children who walk to school concentrate better for the first four hours of the day compared with those that drive.
Activity levels : children who walk are more active when they arrive at their destination and so continue to enjoy the benefits of increased activity levels even after the walk is over.
ADHD : a 20 minute walk in the park improves concentration levels in ADHD kids as much as medication.

Walking Benefits For Mental Health

Depression : walking just one mile daily protects against depression in all ages and eases depression in those suffering.
Anxiety : a 10 minute walk can relieve anxiety as much as a 45 minute workout and the benefits kick in after 5 minutes.
Chronic stress : a 20 minute walk reduces cortisol levels and chronic stress in adolescents.

Walking Benefits For Wellbeing

Self esteem : just 5 to 10 minutes activity, including walking, in a green space improves self esteem.
Mood : and again just 5 to 10 minutes walking in a natural environment improves mood.
Creative thinking : walking outside increases creativity levels by over 80%.
Community connection : children who walk daily feel more connected to their community which significantly improves mental health in adolescence.

Walking Benefits For Chronic Conditions

Diabetes : a 10 minute walk after each meal significantly reduces blood glucose levels, especially in the evening.
Cholesterol : walking one to two miles a day cuts bad cholesterol levels by 20%.
Respiratory disease : walking 2 to 3 miles a day reduces hospital admissions in COPD patients.

Walking Benefits For Heart Disease

Blood pressure : a 30 minute walk in the morning can lower blood pressure as much as medication.
Heart disease : walking half an hour daily cuts heart disease risk by 20%.
Stroke risk : walking to work most days cuts risk of death from stroke by 30%.

Walking Benefits For Cancer Risk

Breast cancer : walking 2 to 3 miles a day reduces breast cancer risk.
Colon cancer : walking for 20 minutes – a mile or so – daily reduces risk of colon cancer by up to 50%.

Walking Benefits For Back Pain & Mobility

Back pain : walking one to two miles, two to three times a week is as good as specialist exercises for lower back pain.
Protects muscles : hamstrings and glutes are shortened from prolonged sitting, walking daily prevents this.
Arthritis : walking 10 to 40 minutes a days, most days eases joint pain in arthritis patients.

Walking Benefits For Diet

Weight loss : walking a mile every day burns 700 calories a week.

Walking Benefits For The Elderly

Eyesight : walking three times a week lowers intraocular pressure and cuts the risk of glaucoma by 25%.
Alzheimers : walking one mile a day slows the progress of Alzheimers

That’s a pretty mind blowing list isn’t it? And brilliantly, the benefits of walking are lifelong.

They kick in early in child development and behaviour, then protect teenagers at their most vulnerable, prevent a whole raft of chronic conditions and cancers in middle age and keep us healthy and mobile as we get older.

And walking can do all of this WITHOUT us obsessing about pedometers and 10,000 steps a day walking challenges.

We just need to walk the mile.

We just need to scurry to school and work. And dawdle home. And nip to the shops. And drop in on friends. And stroll in the park.

Those 5 minutes here and 10 minutes there and 20 minutes later, they ALL add up and transform our health because as a very wise bloke said a long time ago:

Walking is man’s best medicine.

And NOW walking is an incredibly powerful medicine for curing pollution in our local communities. Walking the mile, is probably the easiest, quickest way, we can all cut pollution.

3. Reduce Pollution

Us townies and city dwellers could literally cut our family’s contribution to pollution by 30% overnight, if we ALL pledged now to walk all those journeys of roughly a mile or less.

We don’t have to wait for new technology or law makers or complicated permit schemes.

We all have the power in our hands – or feet : ) – right here, right now to change the world.

What are we waiting for? Let’s walk the mile …

I truly hope this inspires you and your family to get out and enjoy all the benefits of walking. It really is joyful.

For more simple ways to improve family health do follow me on Pinterest and have a read of these posts: