Walking will help you losethose unwanted pounds, improve your mood and may even put some sparkleinto your social life. Fitness trends come and go, but walking remains oneof the easiest ways to get active for all age groups and abilities."Walking is one of the best forms of exercise going and it’s greatfor everyone" says John Dent our health and fitness advisor. Well,what are you waiting for?

Walking has the power to protectyou from some of the most dangerous and devastating illnesses – heartdisease, obesity, stroke, diabetes, osteoporosis, and bowel cancer.Walking at least two miles a day can cut the risk of heart disease byabout half, because it brings down high blood pressure and reduces levelsof "bad" LDL cholesterol in the blood. The same improvements canalso reduce the risk of stroke. Regular exercise is especially importantin the prevention of "late onset" diabetes. A major studycarried out by the American National Institute of Health – involvingmore than 3,000 people who were at risk of developing this form ofdiabetes – found that a 30 minute walk, five days a week, plus losing anaverage of 15 pounds in weight, cut their risk by more than half. Walkingis also good for gut health, it can banish constipation and reduces therisk of bowel and colon cancer by up to 40 per cent. It boosts bone healthby strengthening the femur (the major leg bone) and increasing musclestrength, stamina and physical co-ordination, thus reducing the risk offalls and fractures. Walking is a powerful weapon against obesity – amajor risk factor for all of these diseases.

Walking can be one of yourmost powerful allies in the weight-loss war. Regular walking can helpreduce weight and maintain weight loss. Of course, it is possible to loseweight without taking any exercise, but diets combined with exercise arenearly twice as effective as dieting on it’s own, you’ll need to keepmoving if you want to keep those pounds off for good!

Around half of us in the UKare now officially overweight and one in five are obese, meaning theirextra weight puts them at increased risk of health problems such asdiabetes, stroke heart disease and some cancers. Experts estimate that ifcurrent trends continue, by the year 2010, 25 per cent of the populationwill be obese.

Lack of exercise, rather thanincreased calorie intake is the main reason for this "obesityepidemic", according to a report from The Exercise and HealthResearch Group at Loughborough University. National studies have shownthat more than 70 per cent of us fail to take even the minimum amount ofactivity for health each week and people who are overweight are even lessactive than others. If you are seriously, you need an extra 30 minutes ofactivity daily, on top of your normal routine.

The benefits ofwalking aren’t just shown on the scales. You may even find you go down adress size without losing weight, this is because muscle weighs more thanfat and regular exercise builds muscle as opposed to fat.

Regular Walking Can …

· Reduceyour weight by the steady and safe rate of one pound every three weeks –you can achieve this weight loss by walking only two miles a day on threedays a week.

· Makeyou more trim by toning your muscles.

· Improveposture and give your figure a better appearance – you can look slimmerand fitter without losing any weight.

If you’re feelingparticularly low, anxious, stressed or worried, a good walk every day canbe one way to help sort out your problems. In fact, the evidence of it’santidepressant powers is so strong that in April last year the Governmentrecommended that doctors should consider prescribing exercise sessions asan alternative to medication for patients with mild depression. Walkingmakes you feel good and countless studies have shown it can improve mood,lift symptoms of mild anxiety and depression and boost self-esteem.

On the physical side,exercisers appear to be more able to weather the adverse effects ofstress. Interestingly, fit people don’t produce as much of the stresshormones – adrenaline and cortisol – that flood our bodies when wefeel "an alert", and recover more quickly from their effects.

Most of us can walk, ofcourse, but brisk walking is what’s needed for health and fitness. (seeyour questions answered: How fast should I walk?). Don’t stroll orsaunter, but walk as if you are keen to get to your destination. Here area few pointers to put a spring in your step. And remember, correcttechnique and posture aids movement, prevents injury and will developmuscle in the right places as you walk.

· Walktall, with your head up and looking ahead. Don’t look down at the groundor lean in the direction you are walking, Relax your jaw and yourshoulders to avoid tension in the neck and back.

· Allowyour arms to swing freely and rhythmically – remember your arm speedcontrols your leg speed. Don’t keep your arms straight and stiff; bendthem gently at the elbow towards a 90° angle.

· Don’tswing your arms up higher than your breastbone, as this is wasted effort.

· Keepyour hands in a loose curl; don’t clench your fists while walking.

· Stepout for brisk walking, but resist the urge to take longer strides than isnatural for you. This tires your muscles and quicker, smaller steps covermore ground.

· Rememberyour breathing: take full breaths and exhale completely.

· Takesmaller strides walking uphill and lean into the hill.

· Exerciseshould never be painful. If you feel severe pain, stop and see your GP.

Boosting the Benefits

If you’re already quite fit, acomfortable, brisk walking pace – this is normal around three miles perhour for a fit person – may not be enough to increase your breathing andpulse rate and provide sufficient cardiovascular exercise for your heartand lungs. You might need to crank up the speed a bit. The beauty ofwalking is that you can adjust the speed and intensity to give you more ofan aerobic workout whenever you want. There are three main ways of doingthis:

· Walking faster. Strideout briskly, as though you are walking fast to catch a bus or get in outof the cold. Walk fast enough to make you feel warm and a littlebreathless.

· Walking higher. Takea route that includes some hills or steps – or both. As you becomefitter, you can take them at a brisker pace. Walking up a ten per centincline can almost double the energy value of walking. "By adding afew hills, you can significantly increase the heart rate and the demandson the body," says John Dent.

· Walking longer. Insteadof your normal 20 or 30 minutes per day, walk for 45 minutes, or even anhour. Vary the pace and intensity of your walk to get the most from it.

Walking can be a great way toimprove your social life. Every weekend hundreds of people all over thecountry join groups for guided walks in both the town and countryside andthere are many travel companies specialising in walking holidays both athome and abroad.

· The Ramblers’Association (call 020 7339 8500, orvisit www.ramblers.org.uk) is the leading UK organisation offeringdetails of groups, guides, information and advice to walkers.

· The National Trust (call020 7222 9251, or visit www.nationaltrust.org.uk) provides free leaflets of easy countryside walks. Contact the regionaloffice of the area you plan to visit.

· Themedguided walks on historical, literary and architectural subjects areincreasingly popular. London Walks(call 020 7624 3978, or visit www.walks.com) offers walks featuring everything from Shakespeare to Sherlock Holmes.Contact your local tourist board to find out what’s on near you.

· Along-term goal, such as a big walking event or a charity walk, can be abig motivator. If you’re feeling really ambitious, how about an 85Km,five day trek in Brazil, this August with the mental health charityMind (call 0870 012 9001, or visit www.mind.org.uk/brazil) or walking the source of the Ganges in September for theBritish Heart Foundation (call 0800587 2606 and leave your details to be sent an information pack).

· Walking Women (call01926 313321, or visit www.walkingwomen.com) arranges walking holidays and short breaks in the UK and abroad.

· Walking the way to health(visit www.whi.org.uk) is an initiative from the BritishHeart Foundation and TheCountryside Agency toencourage short, supervised walks for people who have health problems.Visit the website for details of these groups.

Too tired to exercise?

Being too busy and tired toexercise is one of the oldest excuses in the book. One of the best reasonsto exercise is that, oddly enough, it gives you more energy. Thestressed-out tiredness you feel at the end of a long, exhausting day isvery different from the sort of tiredness experienced after a good walk ora day spent digging in the garden. Regular exercise improves blood flowaround the body and delivers more oxygen to the tissues, energising themand boosting the metabolism. It also helps relieve stress. If you makeexercise part of your weekly routine, you will gradually find you are ableto do more with less fatigue. An added bonus is that regular exercise canimprove sleep patterns, especially in people who suffer from insomnia, soyou may just benefit from a more restful night’s sleep as well.

Do you think you’d find itdifficult to make walking part of your regular routine?

· Thinkbefore you use the car for a journey of less than a mile. Could you walkto the post office, round to a friend’s house or local shop’s instead?

· Trymaking a walk part of your journey to work. Walk to the rail orunderground station instead of driving, or get off the bus a few stopearlier.

· Alwaystake the stairs instead of the lift in shops or at work.

· Parkthe car further away from your destination and walk the last part to theshops, to work or when going out.

Keeping motivated is one ofthe biggest problems when taking up any new exercise or routine.

· Decideon a target you know you can manage – for example a ten-minute walktwice a week for a month – then reward yourself when you have reachedit.

· Timeyour daily walk and see if you can do it faster as you become fitter. Keepa note of when and where you’ve walked.

· Walkwith a friend, work colleague or partner. It’s more fun and you’llkeep each other up to the mark.

· Timetablewalking into your normal routine and make the time to do it.

· Varyyour routine from time to time. If you walk round the block in onedirection, try going the other way, change your route or time of day.

If you’ve been inactive fora while, had an illness or have any health condition that could beaffected by exercise, such as a heart problem, diabetes or high bloodpressure, check your walking plans with your doctor before you begin.