YOU’VE spent years counting 10,000 steps every day to stay in shape and now Public Health England and the Royal College of GPs are encouraging adults in the West Midlands to focus on doing at least 10 minutes brisk walking every day instead.
Top docs say in England, one in five middle aged adults are physically inactive, meaning they do less than 30 minutes of physical activity per week.
But they say just 10 minutes brisk walking a day counts as exercise and can help protect and improve an individual’s health.
PHE is encouraging local people to join the 600,000 across the country who have downloaded the free ‘Active 10’ app to briskly walk into a healthier life.
Dr Lola Abudu, director for Health and Wellbeing at PHE West Midlands, said: “We all lead busy lives, but summer is the perfect time to be outside and more active.
“The good news is that just 10 minutes of brisk walking every day can really benefit your health in many ways; improving your mood and reducing the risks of serious long-term health conditions like heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, and some cancers.
“Brisk walking is simply walking at a pace that gets your heart pumping faster and makes you feel slightly out of breath, and research shows it’s the combination of the intensity of activity and how long you are active that leads to health benefits.”
Search ‘Active 10’ to download the app for free.
