Walking for Heart Health



Walking for heart health. Senior couple taking a stroll with their grandchild.

We often start the New Year with resolutions to improve our health and find over time that it is difficult to stick with a program.  Walking is one of the best ways to get and stay fit.  Perhaps a fitness tracker; also called an activity tracker, would help to stay motivated to get moving more and maintain an active lifestyle.

A fitness tracker can be a stand-alone device or one that is paired with a companion app on a smartphone.  It can help track amount of activity, intensity, and time, but can also do more than just track steps taken.  While fitness trackers cannot make a person more motivated, it often helps motivation when immediate feedback can be seen from activities.

Around 70% of adults in the United States do not reach the recommended amounts of physical activity, generally about 30 minutes of aerobic activity daily.  If using a fitness tracker motivates a person to move more, it is beneficial for a long-term goal of improving health. 

Learn More:

Healthy lifestyle. [Internet] Mayo Clinic 

Available from: https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/in-depth/walking/art-20047880

Guide to the Assessment of Physical Activity. [Internet] American Heart Association.  Available from:  https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/01.cir.0000435708.67487.da Behavior Change with Fitness Technology in Sedentary Adults.  [Internet] US National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health.  Available from:  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5225122/



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