Walking can do wonders for your physical, mental and social health
Physical health
- Reduce your risk of heart disease and stroke
- Help you manage your weight, blood pressure, and cholesterol
- Prevent and manage type 2 diabetes
- Reduce your risk of some types of cancer
- Maintain your bone density, reducing your risk of osteoporosis and fractures
- Improve your balance and coordination, reducing your risk of falls and other injuries
Mental health
- Improve memory, focus and thinking skills
- Improve your daily mood
- Prevent or support the management of mental health issues, such as depression
- Reduce stress and anxiety
- Help with building coping and resilience capabilities
Social health
- Walking with others can improve wellbeing
- Outdoor walking groups have been shown to improve blood pressure, resting heart rate, cholesterol, body fat and mood
- 9 out of 10 Heart Foundation Walking participants feel groups are important to their social and mental wellbeing
How active do I need to be?
Walking is a great way to improve your physical, mental and social health. Whether you’re walking for fitness, fun or transport, it all counts towards achieving the Australian physical activity guidelines, which indicate that:
- people aged 18 - 64 should aim for 150 minutes or more of moderate physical activity per week — that’s 30 minutes, five days a week
- people 65 and older should aim for 30 minutes of physical activity on most (preferably all!) days
- all adults should include two days of strength training per week
- people aged 65 and older should also include balance exercises into their weekly exercise routine
What is ‘moderate physical activity’?
Moderate physical activity increases your heart rate, but you should still be able to talk comfortably. Walking, more specficially brisk walking, is a great way to achieve a moderate level of physical activity.
Check out our Walking Tips to help you start and stay walking.
Manage your heart health
If you've been diagnosed with heart disease or you're recovering from a heart attack or heart surgery, you can still gain lots of benefits from walking. Walking can be a really important part of cardiac health and rehabilitation programs - but it's recommended to speak to your doctor before you make a start.
For addtional support after a cardiac diagnosis, surgery or event, you may be interested in the Heart Foundation's MyHeart MyLife program or joining the MyHeart MyLife online community.
For information on walking after a heart event or surgery, visit Physical Activity after a Heart Attack.
