Yesterday was National Start! Walking Day, sponsored by the American Heart Association. The goal of the day was to get American’s moving toward an active and healthy lifestyle. With obesity rates rising fast, increasing physical activity is important for so many Americans, but especially for those who spend their workdays sitting behind a desk.
Just because National Start! Walking Day is over, doesn’t mean the American Heart Association’s Start! movement stops, though. They’re just getting started (no pun intended). Based on research that has shown physical activity can improve heart health and increase life expectancy, the mission of the movement is to get people to walk more and eat well so that they’ll live longer.
This may seem like a simple goal, but with more and more of us working long hours at desk jobs, making time for physical activity has become difficult. That’s where Start! comes in, encouraging Americans to wear or take walking shoes to work and take frequent breaks to get in at least 30 minutes of walking every day. All it takes is two or three 10-minute walking breaks to have a positive impact on your health.
If you’re interested in joining the Start! movement, you’ll find plenty of resources at their website, including tools to develop a personalized walking plan and track your activity and meals. Don’t want to walk alone? There are also resources for getting your company and co-workers involved in the movement. But if your HR department isn’t ready to Start!, don’t get discouraged. You can still enlist a work friend or two to Start! with you. Ask around and you might find others at your company who want to get active and Start! moving more, too!
"Eat well. Live well. Be well."
