Best Foot Forward

The Health Benefits of Regular Physical Activity

Societal Benefits of Walking

Best Foot Forward

Walking is the most commonly taken exercise in the UK, with around 8/10 journeys under a mile being made on foot. Brisk walking is the perfect way to help you meet the current activity recommendations.

In health terms it’s been described as the perfect exercise and that probably rings true in broader societal terms as well. Walking is low impact, requires minimal equipment, can be done at any time of day and can be performed at your own pace.

Walking can bring a range of benefits to our everyday lives, to our health, safety, access to services and even our sense of community.

Walking can improve health and fitness
Walking regularly can improve your health and fitness, it can help you lose body fat and maintain a healthy weight and reduce your risk of developing conditions such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis and some cancers. Walking also helps improve your mental wellbeing, getting out and going for a walk can help reduce stress, anxiety, depression and helps improve self-confidence.

Walking has a major role in transport
Walking is the most natural mode of transport and the one that has the least impact on the environment. More than 25% of all journeys, and some 80% of journeys under a mile in length, are made on foot.

Walking is a form of active transport, with most people being pedestrians at some point every day. Even if you are just walking from the car park to your workplace, you are a pedestrian. By extending the distance that you walk, or combining a short walk with public transport, you can contribute to reducing congestion on the roads, improving air quality and making the our cities, towns and villages safer places to live.

Walking can revitalise our communities
More and more areas in Cities and Towns throughout the United Kingdom are getting regenerated. Over the last 15 years local Councils have now started to create high quality urban environments that people want to live in. With planning departments realising that designing urban areas with well-located amenities such as local shops, schools, and green open space not only helps meet the needs of the local people but also helps encourage people to walk more.

Improving the walking environment helps to foster the sense of community and concern for other people that is important in building a better society. Larger numbers of people regularly walking in an area can help to deter crime and vandalism.

So, as we can see walking more often will not only benefit your health but will also benefit our society as a whole. That’s why we at Urbanwalks enjoy what we do, getting people, more active, more often in their everyday environment and the associated benefits that brings to the individual and their surrounding area.