Healthy Living: Family

Huntington County Wellness challenges you to start moving more!! Small changes can really add up to large increases in your daily activity level.  Here are just a few ideas to get you started:

  • Park in the farthest space from the store or mall.
  • Walk, run and play actively with your children or grandchildren.
  • Mow your yard using a push mower.
  • Take a walking break instead of a coffee break at work.
  • Take the stairs instead of the elevator.
  • Hide your remote and change channels the old-fashioned way.
  • Avoid drive-through windows.  Get out of the car and walk in.
  • Put on upbeat music while you clean your house.
  • Clean your kitchen and get some extra steps as the machines do the "dirty work!"
  • Take up dance — ballroom, clogging, you name it. Most of us love music, and its fun!

Busy?

Tips for Busy Families | read it

10 Quick Facts For Walkers

  1. Researchers have concluded that people who burn at least 2,000 calories in conscious activity a week (climbing stairs, walking and formal exercise) show vastly better health profiles and longevity than sedentary people.
  2. 10,000 steps of walking burn roughly 300 to 450 calories each day.  This means a person who averages 10,000 steps a day will, over the course of a week, end up burning 2,100 to 3,100 calories walking.
  3. Most adults walk between 1,800 steps and 2,200 steps per mile (depending on stride length).  Most children cover a mile in about 2,500 steps because their strides are shorter.  So, 10,000 steps translate to about five miles a day for an adult, four miles a day for a child.
  4. The average office worker takes about 3,000 to 5,000 steps in a typical workday.  People who are sedentary may get only 1,000 steps a day.
  5. The average person needs to walk an additional 30 minutes daily in order to reach the 10,000-step level.
  6. To get the most health benefit from walking, walk regularly.  You should walk for at least 20 minutes three times a week to see any health benefit.
  7. A person who wants to lose weight should walk at 3.5 to 4.5 miles per hour every day for a minimum of 30 minutes.  Those who want cardiovascular fitness should aim for 4 to 5 miles per hour or faster.
  8. Walking helps prevent heart disease and stroke by improving cholesterol levels, blood flow and heart function.  It also helps reduce blood pressure and prevent adult-onset diabetes by reducing body fat.
  9. Walking prevents bone loss and osteoporosis by promoting bone formation.
  10. Need any other reasons to walk 10,000 steps daily?  Log on to our website at www.digiwalker.com for more information on the DIGI-WALK 10,000 Steps Today? ™ program.

Walk 10,000 steps a day for better health!  Every Step Counts! ™