# Is walking really good for one’s health? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 3, 2021, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-walking-really-good-for-one-s-health/939342 "2021-04-03T19:26:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2021, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-walking-really-good-for-one-s-health/939342/61 "2021-04-07T19:02:47Z")
I used to run. I was fit and thin. Then, my knees started to go, and I didn’t substitute any other exercise. I thought I _had_ to run to get the benefits. I can’t run at all anymore, so I walk. I think if I’d always walked, I’d not have stopped exercising. No excuses, but it’s easy to maintain habits once they become habits. Harder to change behaviors/start new ones. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2021, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-walking-really-good-for-one-s-health/939342/62 "2021-04-07T19:23:59Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > exercise that is also social play (walking or running together, a racquet sport, etc.) has extra huge benefits. When I walk with my dog, I walk further, and the time passes faster. On her “daycare” day (which is the day she gets necessary socialization with other dogs), I find it hard to get out and walk. > [@jtur88](#): > > I always make it a point to find and use stairs in medical buildings. I try to use the stairs wherever I am. Unless I’m with someone (besides DH), I have heavy bags, or I’m going up, and it’s _really_ far (like, 11 flights), I don’t use the elevator. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2021, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-walking-really-good-for-one-s-health/939342/63 "2021-04-08T01:10:38Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > Go out the in the hall and see if you can find the stairs”. Medical architecture keeps them so well hidden, they are impossible to find. Stairs are the primary fire exits in most buildings, including medical-they wouldn’t be allowed to hide them. They have to be readily findable for staff, the public, clients. Special lighting and signage is required making them findable. However, if it gets people walking up some stairs, good. But they will be findable, they have to be. ---
**Author:** ![actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/actualliberalnotoneofthose)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2021, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-walking-really-good-for-one-s-health/939342/64 "2021-04-11T09:56:19Z")
Very close. Not usually a picker and usually stay within the same 6-8 feet or so but moving constantly. ---
**Author:** ![actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/actualliberalnotoneofthose)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2021, 10:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-walking-really-good-for-one-s-health/939342/65 "2021-04-11T10:00:34Z")
Yes, 4 years ago I took a physical job after being employed mostly in a home office setting for the majority of my adulthood. I’ve found it to be challenging and beneficial for my health, and that’s probably the main reason I choose to stay and do my “real” work around my employment schedule. I’m a big proponent of a lot of walking and regular weight-lifting. It is pretty much impossible for me to gain weight, to the point I force myself to eat because I actually want to gain weight. Think it’s a pretty cool “problem” to have at my age, especially when so many people claim that one needs to live in the gym and be obsessive about food to even be in decent physical shape. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2021, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-walking-really-good-for-one-s-health/939342/66 "2021-04-11T17:00:18Z")
Let me give my personal story. It is just one person’s story, but suggestive. I had a heart attack in 1965. I recovered nicely, but in 1973, I had galloping angina. I was prescribed beta blockers which were then new. And I started walking to my office, 4 miles, at least 4 days a week (except for certain exceptional weather–blizzard or temperature below -25 C). I am still around to tell the tale. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-walking-really-good-for-one-s-health/939342.md?page=3)