Walking to work ‘significantly improves health’

Walking to work will significantly improve your health, a new study has suggested.

Researchers from the Ohio State University Knowlton School of Architecture said walking with a purpose makes people travel much faster, and subsequently, more healthier.

Those who walked to work, the supermarket or local shops reported better health than those who walked for recreational purposes, and walking for any reason increased how healthy a person felt.

The team of experts analysed health self-assessments from more than 125,000 people, aged between 18 and 64, and asked them to document how many minutes they spent walking from home to work, from home to a supermarket, from home to leisure activities.

Researchers found that people who walked to work walked, on average, 2.7 miles per hour, which was faster than those who walked for other reasons, such as an after dinner stroll.

They also found that walking for an extra 10 minutes on the way to work increased the odds of having a higher health score by 6 per cent.

“I was thinking the differences would not be that significant, that walking is walking, and all forms of walking are helpful,” associate professor Gulsah Akar explained. “And that is true, but walking for some purposes has significantly greater effect on our health than others.

“That means going to a gym or a recreation centre aren’t the only ways to exercise. It’s an opportunity to put active minutes into our daily schedules in an easy way,” she added.