New research finds that a brisk walk may be just as good for the body as a pounding jog. Researchers from California and Connecticut researched this by comparing thousands of walkers to thousands of runners. They meaured each athlete’s blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol at the beginning, and kept tabs on them for six years to see who got diagnosed with high blood pressure, unhealthy cholesterol or diabetes. They found that people who exercised with the same amount of energy got the same benefit. Paul Williams, study co-author, explains, “It takes longer to walk a mile than to run a mile. But if you match them up on energy expended, they are comparable. If you do the same amount of exercise– if you expend the same number of calories– you get the same benefit.” (NBC)
