StepStone Walking for Health and the Benefits of Walking
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The document discusses the benefits of walking for health and physical activity. It notes that physical inactivity is a leading cause of illness and death in the UK, costing the NHS £8.2 billion per year. Walking is recommended as a good form of physical activity that most people can participate in. The benefits of regular walking include improvements in mental health, weight control, heart health, and reduced risk of chronic diseases. The key recommendation is to walk at a brisk pace for at least 150 minutes per week.
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StepStone Walking for Health and the Benefits of Walking
- 1. StepStone Challenge/ WfH & The benefits of Walking . www.walkingforhealth.org.uk
- 2. www.walkingforhealth.org.uk Visit the WfH website for lots more information including details of local walks
- 3. Physical Activity and Health • What is health? A state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity’ (WHO definition) • Benefits and barriers • How much activity? • Why walking? www.walkingforhealth.org.uk
- 4. Influences on health www.walkingforhealth.org.uk
- 5. How is our Health? A number of medical conditions are increasing in the general population, including… • Mental health problems • Obesity • Diabetes • Coronary Heart Disease www.walkingforhealth.org.uk
- 6. Physical Inactivity and (ill) Health Being physically inactive • Is one of the leading causes of illness and death in the UK • Costs the NHS £8.2 billion per year • Has the same effect on risk of heart disease as smoking 20 cigarettes per day. o Source HSE report 2008 www.walkingforhealth.org.uk
- 7. How Risky is Inactivity? Risk factors for coronary heart disease Percentage of population at risk Source: HSE Statistics 2008 www.walkingforhealth.org.uk
- 8. Adults participating in activity for at least 10 minutes in last 4 weeks • Adults meeting the CMO recommendations for activity: • Men – 39% • Women – 29% (Source HSE 2008) www.walkingforhealth.org.uk
- 9. How Much Activity Is Enough? 150 Minutes moderate intensity activity a week in bouts of 10 minutes or more www.walkingforhealth.org.uk
- 10. Why Is Walking So Good? Most people can join in… • No special equipment • Low impact • Varied pace • Increase pace/distance gradually • Many physical and mental health benefits • Not age or cost-related • Socialising! www.walkingforhealth.org.uk
- 11. Why Is Walking So Good? At any pace o Mental health benefits o Helps to prevent diabetes and control weight o Increases ‘good’ cholesterol o Benefits immune system / reduces bowel cancer o Reduces risk factors for falls in the elderly o Can help reduce progression of osteoarthritis/osteoporosis o Improves muscle strength At a ‘brisk’ pace o Improves functioning of heart and lungs o Reduces blood pressure www.walkingforhealth.org.uk
- 12. Mental Health and Well-being Being physically active can: • Improve psychological well being in older adults • Enhance self-esteem • Alleviate short-term stress • Aid recovery from stress- related illness • Decrease likelihood of clinical depression www.walkingforhealth.org.uk
- 14. The Main Message Walk at a brisk pace which makes you: • Breathe a little quicker • Feel warmer • Have a slightly quicker heart beat This moderate intensity pace should be comfortable and you should still be able to talk! www.walkingforhealth.org.uk
- 15. Join Wellness Counts StepStone Challenge and a WfH group now to realise these wellbeing benefits yourself www.wellnesscounts.co.uk www.walkingforhealth.org.uk www.walkingforhealth.org.uk
Notas do Editor
- what the WfH website pages look like. This is the WfH website, you can get lots of really helpful information and resources here, including: A walk finder, where you can find the nearest WfH group walk to you Information on all the services provided by the national centre Current news and local achievements Leaflets such as Walk More Feel the Difference, which you can share with participants Current and back dated copies of the newsletter. Key points to summarise: The usefulness of the website as an ongoing resource and information portal.
- What ‘ health ’ means to different people. This should broaden your own ideas on what ‘ health ’ actually is, and help understand the different reasons why individuals may participate in a health walk. How activity, and walking in particular, may benefit health and what barriers may be faced by individuals when they are trying to increase their activity levels. How much activity we need to do in order to benefit our health and well-being.
- Purpose: To discuss the wider influences, or determinants, of health. Can you think of ways that our health can be positively or negatively affected by these factors? You can then go on to briefly discuss the answers and show how our health can be positively or negatively affected by each of these. Key points Health can be affected by a number of different factors Some of these factors are outside a persons control, e.g. age, genetics. Other factors we do have control over and should aim to make the most of these .
- One in four people is likely to experience a mental health issue every year. This ranges from 1% who are living with bi-polar disorder to more than 16% of the population who are living with depression and anxiety at any one time. The cost to the NHS, in terms of prescriptions, is £338 million annually and the cost of depression in lost economic output is £12 billion a year. More than two thirds (66%) of women and three-quarters (75%) of men aged 55-74 years in England are overweight or obese. Type 2 diabetes rate is linked to the rise in overweight and obesity. Coronary heart disease is the leading cause of death in the UK. One in five men and one in six women will die from the disease – more than from all types of cancer. However, experiencing nature in the outdoors and being active outside can help tackle mental health issues, obesity, diabetes and coronary heart disease. Key points A number of important medical conditions are increasing in the general population. This is costing the NHS money. All of these conditions can be helped in some way by increasing physical activity. Reinforces that experiencing nature and being active outside can help tackle mental health issues, obesity, diabetes and coronary heart disease.
- Physical inactivity is associated with all-cause mortality (that is death from any cause) and many chronic diseases, including heart disease, diabetes, certain cancers and obesity. In England, physical inactivity was estimated to cost £8.2 billion a year in 2002. For every 60 men who walk in a group one life is saved compared to 60 men who don ’ t walk. DoH estimates that if the trends in weight gain continue, nine out of 10 adults could be overweight or obese by 2050. This information is from the latest Health Survey for England, 2008, published in December 2009. Key points Inactivity can be detrimental to health. This can and does cost the NHS money.
- Purpose : To highlight the health risks of being inactive and to show that a higher percentage of men and women are putting their health at risk from being inactive than from the more widely known risk factors of high cholesterol, high blood pressure and smoking. This shows the prevalence of physical inactivity compared with the other risk factors. Physical inactivity is more prevalent than High Cholesterol or High BP or smoking – i.e. it affects a greater percentage of the population. For this reason, the opportunities to improve cardiovascular health through getting people more active are greater and there is potential for a greater benefit to the population as a whole. (These statistics are taken from the annual Health Survey England report 2008 published December 2009 ) Key points: The health risks of physical inactivity may be under-estimated by many and are higher than some of the better known risk factors . Many people expect smoking to be a bigger risk factor, possibly due to publicity on smoking cessation and the effectiveness of public campaigns. Emphasises the importance of Physical Activity campaigns such as Walking for Health.
- Purpose: To highlight the low levels of activity amongst the adult population. The graph on this slide shows the self reported levels of activity amongst adult men and women (over 16yrs of age). In reality, the percentage of adults meeting the minimum requirements as laid down by the Chief Medical Officer are much lower. Most individuals tended to over estimate their activity levels in the survey and when measured using accelerometers (a high tech pedometer) the number meeting the guidelines fell to only 6% of men and 4% of women. About 70% of us don ’ t do enough physical activity to benefit our health!! The proportion of both men and women who met the recommendations generally decreased with age. For both men and women, participation in walking and sports and exercise generally fell with ag e. Data taken from the Health Survey England report 2008 (published Dec 2009). Key points : Increasing physical activity has become a global health priority as not only are about 70% of us not doing enough activity to benefit our health – but the amount of activity we do decreases as we age!
- Purpose: To deliver and clarify the main activity message of 150 minutes per week . These guidelines come from the Chief Medical Officer and recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate activity per week for adults, aged 19 + (Department of Health guidance, published July 2011). This can be achieved in bouts of 10 minutes or more. One way to approach this is to do 30 minutes on at least 5 days a week. Moderate intensity is equivalent to a ‘ brisk ’ pace and means you are able to talk but you notice that your breathing is quicker and deeper, your body is warming up, your face may have a healthy glow and your heart is beating slightly quicker than normal but not racing. You still feel comfortable though. There is growing support for the benefit of accumulating activity in shorter bouts of 10 minutes or more interspersed throughout the day. Shorter bouts have demonstrated positive effects similar to a single long bout of activity. Walking briskly 5 times a week for 30 minutes burns off the same amount of calories as 6 Mars Bars (2000 calories). Key points: Many of the barriers to physical activity can be minimised or eliminated by using the 150 minutes a week message and then breaking down the minutes into 10 or 15 minute slots and finding any enjoyable moderate intensity activity to do.
- Once the activity has been completed you can feedback and summarise the ideas about why walking is such a beneficial activity. Walking is cheap as it requires no special equipment or clothing. It is low impact and safe and both pace and distance can be progressed gradually depending on fitness and ability. Walking can bring about many physical and mental health benefits. Key points: Walking is suitable for everyone – and a great social opportunity!
- Purpose: To highlight the specific benefits of walking at different paces. Emphasises that ‘ pace ’ is important and that the pace must be suitable for the individual. Also emphasise s that talking about brisk too early on for beginners can be very off-putting so you need to say that you can get all those benefits at any pace. Key points : walking is the most painless, cost effective and efficient way to get the exercise we need and is suitable for everyone. Walking is the closest thing to perfect exercise and includes the 4 F’s – Fun, Free, Fitness, Friends.
- Purpose: T his slide underpins the importance of health walks for mental well-being as well as for physical health. The Chief Medical Officer states that 'Physical activity is effective in the treatment of clinical (mild to moderate) depression and can be as successful as psychotherapy or medication'. Walking is, for most people, an ideal form of such physical activity and has been shown to improve self-esteem, relieve symptoms of depression and anxiety, and improve mood. So, health walks can make a significant difference. In addition, the mental health benefits may be more quickly realised than the physical benefits for people taking up activity. This can be useful in helping people maintain regular activity. If they feel better and enjoy the experience they will want to come again. Key points: Health walks can make an important difference to an individuals mental health as well as their physical health
- Purpose: use this slide to illustrate the different levels of intensity that a participant should experience during a short WfH walk. From this graph you can see that : A Walking for Health Walk should be a 30 – 45 minute walk led walk. The first and last five minutes should be at a gentle pace. Some individuals new to walking may need a longer warm up and cool down period. There should be some time in the middle of a walk when participants feel that they are walking at a moderate pace. Key points A walk should include: a warm up, brisk pace and cool down. Use the car analogy or something similar to explain the concept of the different phases.
- Purpose: This slide emphasises what the brisk component of the WfH walk should feel like for walkers. We ’ ve identified that we want walkers to build up the pace gradually starting with a gentle pace at the beginning then quickening so that after they ’ ve warmed up to a brisk pace, but what does this actually mean? (NOTE: this is a rhetorical question) Because everyone ’ s walking pace is different, a brisk pace for one person may be someone else ’ s leisurely stroll! For example my brisk walking pace could be very different to that of an Olympic athlete. So, we need to make sure that walkers are aware of when they are walking at a brisk pace and that this will be different for everyone as we all have different abilities. To do this we need to help walkers think about how they feel when the are walking and you need to be able to spot the signs that tell us that someone is walking at a brisk pace. So can anyone describe how they might tell if a walker is doing a brisk pace? Key points : Reinforce the main message on the slide which is that the brisk pace (or moderate intensity) is comfortable yet more challenging than a normal pace.
- Health walks are a perfect accompaniment to StepStone Challenge