Fitness Files: When it comes to walking, the nag knows best
“Why don’t you write about something you do really well?” my husband asked. Then he added, “Nagging.”
First of all, I don’t nag, and second, on this particular morning, I hadn’t said one thing. I just looked at him, standing in the kitchen, refrigerator door open.
Dressed and shaved before 7 a.m., he’d obviously skipped his 45-minute walk, so he was feeling guilty and blaming me.
I’m not a nag.
I am the walk monitor.
Is my encouragement important? What exactly does a 75-year-old male get out of starting his morning with a brisk walk?
Googling “benefits of walking,” I realized what a gift I gave my husband that morning with the accusing look.
About.com’s article on walking quotes the New England Journal of Medicine’s Honolulu Heart, a 12-year study of 8,000 men. Walking just two miles a day cut the risk of death nearly in half — especially when a cancer diagnosis is involved. Cancer prevention comes from “beneficial effects on the immune system and hormone levels.”
The website article continues by saying that walking probably protects the heart and circulatory system by raising HDL, the good cholesterol, and keeping weight down.
It pointed to a study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine in 1999 in noting that “just 30 minutes a day of walking brings as much risk reduction for heart attack as a high-intensity exercise program.”
Under the title “Mental Benefits of Walking,” Arthritis Today begins with physiological good news: “lowered blood pressure, less joint pressure, a decreased risk of stroke, weight control and better night’s sleep.”
Mental benefits listed:
1. A UC San Francisco School of Medicine study of 6,000 women 65 and older found that walking 2 1/2 miles a day slowed memory decline.
2. The University of Virginia Health System, Charlottesville, found that men ages 71 to 93 who walked more than a quarter-mile a day had half the incidence of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease compared to those who walked less.
3. The British Journal of Sports Medicine found that walking 30 minutes a day boosted the moods of depressed patients faster than antidepressants by releasing natural pain-killing endorphins.
And my husband’s missed day of walking? The Mayo Clinic put it this way in 2013: “Sometimes things come up that keep you from sticking to a regular walking program … people can be too hard on themselves when this occurs.… Don’t let a few days off sabotage your plan …get back in the game.”
After my husband reads this bushel of studies supporting the old nag, he should thank me. Besides, I followed his directions and wrote about something that I am really good at, giving helpful advice.
Newport Beach resident CARRIE LUGER SLAYBACK is a retired teacher who ran the Los Angeles Marathon at age 70, winning first place in her age group. Her blog is lazyracer@blogspot.com.