Secret steps to health and happiness
One group in Manchester is handing out the secret to health and happiness. Shhh: it’s called walking.
You may be surprised to learn that walking for just 30min, 5 times a week, can help to reduce the risk of heart disease and diabetes, strengthen bones and even elevate your mood! Walking can help you stay healthy and live longer, control your weight, keep happy, enjoy time with friends and family, learn more about your local area and even help to look after the environment.
With over 90,000 obese adults in Manchester, which is predicted to rise to 137,000 by 2015, we all need to get moving but for many people the prospect of walking is a daunting task. That’s where the Ramblers “Get Walking Keep Walking” comes in. The free walking programme helps people to take those first steps out of the front door. By offering friendly group support and interesting routes around your local area, they show how anyone can build walking into part of their regular routine and get healthier and happier as a result.
Alan Moffat, from Moston, Manchester, stumbled upon the secret and explains how Get Walking Keep Walking changed his life:
“Before joining the group, I had virtually stopped walking. I used to walk a lot in the peak district but due to a Kidney transplant and subsequent general health problems after I felt I wasn’t fit enough and lacked motivation to get started.
“Due to my ill health I was sat around in the house a lot which makes you depressed. Now I am more motivated to go out and be active! I am generally really busy now as I am involved with Get Walking and the Manchester and Salford Ramblers.
“I never realised there were so many good places to walk on your doorstep. For example I passed Debdale Park in the car so many times but thought it was just a small park, never realising how big and beautiful it was with its reservoirs.”
With obesity and obesity related health problems on the rise, there’s never been a better time to spread the secret.
As Ramblers CEO Tom Franklin highlights: “Nowadays, you can barely pick up a newspaper without a headline on obesity or the health effects of sedentary living leaping out at you. Imagine if a pharmaceutical company invented a ‘wonder drug’ which, if taken by the whole population, would cut obesity, reduce deaths from coronary heart disease by over a third and lift your mood. Well, that drug exists; it is called walking.”
Get Walking Keep Walking programmes are completely FREE and open to EVERYONE. So, why not join us at our next open programme on Friday 26 February at 1pm meeting at Woodhouse Park Lifestyle Centre where you will get all the guidance and support you need to Get Walking and Keep Walking.
Too far from your door? Get Walking Keep Walking runs groups across Manchester, for more information about your nearest group check out: www.getwalking.org.uk or contact the Manchester Get Walking Keep Walking office on 0161 232 3106.
Published by: Travel Actively on Wednesday February 17 2010
