The World Health Organization says walking is the best exercise? It depends on how you walk

gossip

We often hear this statement: WHO says walking is the best exercise.

WHO: That's not what I said! I just used walking as an example. I mainly recommended exercise duration, exercise intensity and exercise frequency.

analyze

Zou is a pictographic character. In oracle bone script, zou looks like a person running forward with arms and legs wide open. In ancient Chinese, zou has a certain meaning of running. For example, the zou in the phrase "zoumaguanhua" (walking horse and looking at flowers) has a certain meaning of running. With the evolution of zou, the meaning of running has gradually weakened, and it specifically refers to the movement of the feet, such as walking and walking.

Before the founding of the People's Republic of China, people relied on walking for daily short-distance travel. With the development of the times, various types of transportation have changed our daily travel methods, and walking has gradually changed from people's daily transportation method to a daily exercise method.

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The World Health Organization proposed in the Vienna Declaration in 1992 that walking is the best form of exercise for the elderly, which is the origin of the common saying "WHO said walking is the best exercise." However, people often overlook the main factors: exercise time, exercise frequency and exercise intensity.

Life lies in exercise, but before exercising we should choose a suitable exercise method according to our physical condition and interests. Only the right exercise method can make us better experience the joy of exercise.

According to my country's "2020 National Fitness Activity Survey Bulletin", brisk walking and running ranked the top two among sports participated by adults. It can be seen that brisk walking and running, which are not restricted by venue, time and age, are sports that adults are keen on.

To achieve the goal of scientific fitness, it is not enough to have the right sports. We also need to achieve good fitness results through the right amount of exercise. In the "WHO Guidelines on Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior (2020)", the recommended principles for physical activity for people of different ages show that sedentary behavior is unhealthy. People can reduce sedentary behavior by increasing any type of physical activity, which will be good for the heart, body and mind. Any intensity of physical activity is better than no activity. All physical activities are beneficial. People over 65 years old should increase physical activities that enhance balance, coordination and muscle strength.

Take brisk walking as an example. It is a form of exercise between walking and race walking. It is not limited by age, gender, physical strength, etc. It is a simple, low-cost and beneficial exercise method. Scientific brisk walking can effectively improve our cardiopulmonary function and muscle endurance, effectively reduce the occurrence of cardiovascular diseases and sudden heart events, and effectively enhance the blood's ability to carry oxygen, which can effectively enhance the body's immunity, improve psychological conditions and sleep quality.

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Although brisk walking is good, we also hear people say that they wanted to lose weight by brisk walking, but instead of losing weight, they became unable to walk, their knees could not bear it, and even their meniscus was seriously damaged. There are several reasons for this, such as improper movements, too high exercise intensity, too long duration, not warming up before walking, not stretching after walking, etc.

in conclusion

In order to gain health benefits from brisk walking, according to the "WHO Guidelines on Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior (2020)", while maintaining the correct walking posture, adults and the elderly should accumulate at least 150-300 minutes of moderate-intensity walking or at least 75-150 minutes of high-intensity walking per week. If you want to obtain additional health benefits, you should also perform muscle strengthening activities at least 2 or more times a week.

Author: Wu Dongming, Associate Researcher at the National Physical Fitness Research Center, Institute of Sports Science, General Administration of Sports of China

Review｜Ma Yong, Professor of Wuhan Institute of Physical Education

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