If there were ever a good healthy reason for walking then the research from the University of South Carolina has to be up there among the top three.
After a five-year research study of 6,278 adults researchers found that a brisk walk of around two and a half hours (spread across a week) can cut the risk of high blood pressure by a quarter percent. It doesn’t stop there! The research scientists who ran the study say that the benefits from a brisk walk may also be of use to those people who have a family history of high blood pressure.
The study was published in the American Heart Association’s journal, Hypertension by study author Robin Shook, a doctoral graduate at the University of South Carolina in the United States. Robin has been reported as saying that
“Understanding the roles that family history and fitness play in chronic diseases is critically important. “The results of this study send a very practical message, which is that even a very realistic, moderate amount of exercise – which we define as brisk walking for 150 minutes per week – can provide a huge health benefit, particularly to people predisposed to high blood pressure (hypertension) because of their family history. “The correlation between fitness levels, parental history and risk are impossible to ignore”.
Sport is one form of physical exercise, but anything from walking 2hr. 30min. a week, cycling or gardening would be classed as exercise. Doing some exercise keeps your heart and blood pressure in good condition and will continue to serve you for many years to come.
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