Here’s a look at what we’ve seen by organizations observing the week: is
The American Heart Association is Encouraging Walking Activities during the Week to draw attention to employer-sponsored health promotion and chronic disease prevention.
The association’s National Start! Walking Day, which aims to get Americans up and moving for 30 minutes on April 8, will take place during the week.
The Start! initiative works with employers and the 135 million Americans in the workplace to create a culture of walking before, during or after work. It offers resources for employers to implement a walking program in the workplace and track employees’ progress in the program.
http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3065460
Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D-SD) and Rep. Charles Boustany (R-LA) introduced a bipartisan resolution to designate the week.
This is what they said in a news release:
http://hersethsandlin.house.gov/press/2008/press_073108_wellness.htm
There are numerous benefits of walking regularly, said Jeanmarie Scordino, exercise physiologist and lead trainer of the Morton Plant Mease Wellness Centers who was quoted in the Tampa Bay Beacon. Walking benefits include:
• Decreases depression
• Helps to increase muscular strength
• Eases lower back pain
• Helps reduce hypertension and high blood pressure
• Increases good (HTL) cholesterol
• Helps decrease body fat
• Helps maintain and increase bone density
• Reduces the risk of Type II diabetes
• Increases one’s metabolism
• Increases the immune system
Scordino encourages people to exercise between 30 and 60 minutes each day, even if that is broken into 10-minute segments. Studies have shown, she said, that 60 minutes of moderate exercise each day has significant health benefits even when it is broken down into smaller segments of time throughout the day.
http://www.tbnweekly.com/pubs/clearwater_beacon/content_articles/040109_clw-02.txt
The American Heart Association offers some facts and statistics:
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c110:H.+Con.+Res.+405:
Wellness Manager 