# Could it be true that postmen live long healthy lives? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 25, 2013, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-it-be-true-that-postmen-live-long-healthy-lives/656654 "2013-04-25T11:37:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2013, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-it-be-true-that-postmen-live-long-healthy-lives/656654/21 "2013-04-28T11:19:03Z")
Cardio is great, but it’s not like its the only thing that’s worthwhile. Walking a mile and running a mile burn basically the same amount of calories, so walking several miles a day is a great (and easy) way to avoid obesity. I am firmly convinced that our current obesity situation is because we don’t work out at the gym enough, but that many of us have basically stopped walking anywhere. Walkable cities, for example, are slim cities. Having slow, steady calorie burning folded in as a seamless part of daily life is gold. ---
**Author:** ![FuzzyOgre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@FuzzyOgre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FuzzyOgre)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2013, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-it-be-true-that-postmen-live-long-healthy-lives/656654/22 "2013-04-28T11:30:42Z")
> [@Toxylon](#): > > I think it’s impossible for a healthy adult to walk hard at 4 km/h. Back when I walked regularly, I would sustain a 7.5 km/h speed for over an hour. That felt like hard walking. Now that I’m sedentary and weigh 70 lbs. more than I used to, 6 km/h is hard walking to me. 4 km/h is loitering, IME. > > It’s really common to hear people say walking isn’t effective enough. Not once have I witnessed these commentators actually walking hard. Thanks for pointing that out. I was wrong. I just looked at my spreadsheet of track times(and distances. I did 9.3 km in 1:30, or about 6 km/h. ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2013, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-it-be-true-that-postmen-live-long-healthy-lives/656654/23 "2013-04-28T13:52:29Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > Cardio is great, but it’s not like its the only thing that’s worthwhile. Walking a mile and running a mile burn basically the same amount of calories, so walking several miles a day is a great (and easy) way to avoid obesity. > > I am firmly convinced that our current obesity situation is because we don’t work out at the gym enough, but that many of us have basically stopped walking anywhere. Walkable cities, for example, are slim cities. Having slow, steady calorie burning folded in as a seamless part of daily life is gold. But there’s a difference between good cardiovascular fitness and healthy body weight. Yes, low intensity walking burns calories and means you have to eat a lot more to be fat. At the same time, if you aren’t walking such that you have elevated heart rate then it’s not really improving your cardiovascular fitness. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2013, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-it-be-true-that-postmen-live-long-healthy-lives/656654/24 "2013-04-28T13:54:14Z")
> [@Martin\_Hyde](#): > > But there’s a difference between good cardiovascular fitness and healthy body weight. Yes, low intensity walking burns calories and means you have to eat a lot more to be fat. At the same time, if you aren’t walking such that you have elevated heart rate then it’s not really improving your cardiovascular fitness. Well, yeah. And both are good to have. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-it-be-true-that-postmen-live-long-healthy-lives/656654.md?page=1)