It is not necessary to run marathons to improve your health and fitness, pointed out Dieter Breithecker, director of Germany's Federal Working Group for Posture and Mobilisation Support (BAG). Simply getting regular exercise, he said, significantly lowers the risk of heart attacks, diabetes, osteoporosis, cancer and depression.
“Include as much exercise as possible in your daily routine. It will boost metabolism and can help you achieve amazing health effects,” he said.
And every step you take is a calorie killer that helps keep you from being overweight, Breithecker added.
“All it takes to stay healthy and fit is to burn 300 calories a day with physical activity,” he said. Merely boosting the heart and breathing rate a little — for example by cycling, swimming, doing garden work or walking briskly — is sufficient to bring health benefits.
“Expressed in steps, it should be at least 7,000 a day, roughly the number taken during a brisk, hour-long walk,” he said.
“Look at every set of stairs as an enticement to exercise,” Breithecker advised, noting that climbing stairs was an optimal work-out for the cardiovascular and respiratory systems as well as for the muscles of the legs.
