By Chelsea Reinberg

Research shows that living a sedentary lifestyle may significantly increase your risk for chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, and reduce life expectancy.

More than 25 percent of U.S. adults do not meet physical activity guidelines. The good news is that walking can be an easy and affordable way to improve your health!

Current physical activity guidelines recommend 150 minutes of moderate activity per week for adults. This can be achieved by a brisk 30-minute walk at least five times a week. However, only walking 30 minutes a day but then sitting the remainder of it will not help achieve optimal health and reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease!

You must incorporate other steps throughout the day to truly see the health benefits. An analysis of nearly 227,000 people from around the world showed that the more you walk the greater the benefits. Even as few as an extra 500 steps per day can reduce your risk of dying from cardiovascular disease by 7% (European Society of Cardiology).

Another study found that older adults who took less than 2,000 steps per day compared to those who took approximately 4,500 steps per day had a 77% lower observed risk of experiencing a cardiovascular event (American Heart Association).

If you are unable to walk for 30 minutes at one time, do the best you can and work within your limitations. If you can only walk for 5 or 10 minutes at a time, repeat that. Go for more frequent shorter walks instead of one longer walk.

Every step and minute counts to improving your health. Anything is better than being sedentary and sitting. Moral of the story, the more steps you take the better off your health will be.

Here are five easy ways to get more steps through the day.

• Park farther away in a parking lot to get more steps walking to and from the store.
• Walk around the house while you are talking on the phone.
• Stand up during commercial breaks of your favorite shows and stretch and walk around the living room.
• Take a short walk after breakfast, lunch and/or dinner. Bonus, this also helps aid in digestion!
• Invest in a fitness tracker to monitor your daily steps. This can help keep you accountable and move more when you see that your step count is low for the day.

If you need some inspiration and accountability, consider joining the 2025 Walk Kansas health initiative and help us celebrate 25 years of this walking program!

Walk Kansas is an eight-week walking program designed to help you lead a healthier life. Walk Kansas 2025 starts March 30 and ends May 24. Registration opens March 1. Gather up your family and friends and build a team of four to six people to go on the journey with you or sign up as an individual. All ages are welcome to participate.

Did you know, having an activity partner can help motivate you and keep you accountable to achieve your activity goals? To learn more and register (after March 1), visit walkkansas.org.

Contact foodhelp@jocogov.org or 913-715-7000 for all your nutrition, food safety and health needs.

Chelsea Reinberg is the Health, Food Safety and Nutrition Agent at the Johnson County K-State Research and Extension Office.