Taking steps to stay fit

Walking can help meet the experts' recommendation that adults get at least two-and-a-half hours of moderate-intensity physical activity every week. This helps lower the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, dementia, depression and many types of cancer.

Walking also improves blood sugar levels, is good for bone health and can help people lose weight and sleep better, added Julie Schmied, a nurse practitioner with Norton Healthcare in Kentucky, which runs the free Get Healthy Walking Club.

Another advantage? It's a low-impact exercise that puts less pressure on joints as it strengthens the heart and lungs.

James Blankenship, 68, said joining the walking club at the Louisville Zoo last year helped him bounce back after a heart attack and triple bypass in 2022.

"My cardiologist says I'm doing great," he said.

For all its benefits, however, walking "is not enough for overall health and well-being "because it doesn't provide resistance training that builds muscle strength and endurance, said Anita Gust, who teaches exercise science at the University of Minnesota Crookston.