Walk your way to health

It’s fun, it’s free and anyone can do it! Frances Warneford of the Ramblers’ Association looks at family-friendly walking

You can’t open a newspaper these days without reading another worrying statistic about the health problems caused by inactivity and obesity. The nation’s getting fatter and we all know we could be fitter. But sitting at a desk, looking after the children or facing the daily rush hour, it seems so hard to fit exercise into our busy lives.

Walking could be the answer. Nearly everyone can enjoy walking; you don’t need specialist skills or equipment and you can walk almost anywhere, at any time, just by stepping out of the front door. The Ramblers’ Association (RA) is Britain’s biggest charity working for walkers and its work includes promoting walking as an activity for everyone. One of the great things about walking is that it’s suitable for the whole family. If you’ve got young children it can seem even harder to get out and exercise – but going for a stroll is the perfect family activity and a great way of getting kids more active.

In fact, children are one of the groups that can benefit most from walking. Many of the RA’s led walks are family-friendly, and the charity is keen to encourage children to walk. The RA believes this is vital as studies show children are doing less physical activity than ever – only half of 11 to 16-year-olds currently walk for 10 minutes a day. At the same time, parents drive an average of 600 miles a year taking their children to and from school – that’s two thirds of the way from Land’s End to John O’Groats! But dragging the children off the sofa and away from the TV can be tricky. How can you persuade them that a burst of fresh air and exercise is a much better idea than an afternoon on the PlayStation?

The RA’s website at www.ramblers.org.uk has a host of advice on getting youngsters interested in the outdoors. For example, make the walk a treat by taking nice things to eat and drink along the way and maybe have a picnic. Add interest by getting children to look for animals, birds, trees, people and buildings or collect stones and leaves. Julie Osborne, a volunteer from local RA group Derbyshire Family Ramblers, has put this advice into practice. Julie, who lives in Derby, has two children, aged 10 and 12, who are already keen walkers. Her popular group runs walks throughout the year for youngsters and their parents. Julie stresses it’s important to make the walk sound exciting if you want to encourage your children to explore the great outdoors.

“Don’t just say you are going for a walk,” advises Julie. “Say you are going out for an adventure, to visit something or to explore. On a cold, wet day we’ve told our children we are going out to see what it’s like inside a cloud, and they loved it.” When planning your route, adds Julie, don’t expect your children to be excited by miles of empty landscape. It may seem breathtaking to you, but they will be bored and discouraged by flat open spaces, especially if they can see a path stretching ahead for miles. Instead, give the walk a purpose – to climb a hill, play hide-and-seek in the bracken, feed the ducks, fly a kite or have a picnic.

Not only is walking a great way to spend time together as a family, your children could reap the benefits of an active lifestyle for years to come. For such a simple activity, the health benefits of walking are enormous. Walking for just 30 minutes a day can help reduce the risk of coronary heart disease and stroke. It strengthens the bones and gives you a better range of movement and more flexible muscles. And there is evidence it can reduce the risk of bowel cancer, Alzheimer’s Disease and diabetes. Studies have also shown walkers are less prone to depression and anxiety, tend to be good sleepers and are better able to control body weight. In a recent survey by the Ramblers’ Association, a massive 95% of people said walking had benefited their health and a third said it helped them combat stress and anxiety.

Most people find regular, moderate exercise such as walking is easier to build into a busy lifestyle than joining an expensive gym. And studies show exercising for 10 minutes three times a day is as beneficial as exercising for 30 minutes once a day – so even walking to and from the shops or getting off the bus a stop early can help.

The pace and distance you should walk vary according to your age and fitness but, generally, brisk is best. A brisk one-mile walk in 20 minutes burns around 100 calories – as much as swimming for 10 minutes, playing football for 12 minutes or doing aerobics for 16 minutes. A simple rule is that you should just about be able to hold a conversation while you are walking, but if you’ve been ill you should seek your doctor’s advice before starting a new exercise programme.

And don’t worry that you need lots of expensive, specialist gear or mountaineering skills to walk. If you live in a town or city, there are plenty of places to go for a stroll right on your doorstep. All you need is ordinary warm, comfortable clothing and a pair of comfortable shoes or trainers. Try devising your own walking route linking local parks. Or try a waterside walk – there are 4,000 miles of waterways in Britain and canal towpaths or riversides often provide easy, level walking.

If you want to venture a bit further afield, many areas of beautiful countryside can be easily reached by public transport. These include woodland, country parks, nature reserves and protected areas like National Parks or Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. If you prefer the safety of an organised walk, why not check out one of the RA’s local groups – there are hundreds all over the country with regular walks led by RA volunteers. Many groups organise easy walks for beginners, families and people with disabilities. Or you could get the family started by taking up the RA’s Use Your Paths Challenge. The public is being asked to walk every footpath in Britain by September 2007 and enter them on a special website at www.useyourpaths.info where you can see the paths you have walked light up on a map of Britain.

And there are plenty of chances to try a walk this September with the RA’s week-long festival, Welcome to Walking Week, aimed at beginners and families. The festival runs from 16-24th September with hundreds of easy and short walks all over England, Scotland and Wales. Everyone is welcome to join a walk – you don’t have to be a member of the RA to take part. There will also be special family-friendly walks as part of a partnership with CLIC Sargent, the UK’s leading children’s cancer charity. Many walks will include child-friendly features such as riversides and wildlife parks, games, treasure hunts and wildlife spotting. To find out more about the festival visit: www.ramblers.org.uk/walks

For more advice on getting started walking and to find your local group, visit the RA’s website at www.ramblers.org.uk or phone 020 7339 8500

 

 

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