"The US Surgeon General last week issued another call to action to get his nation walking. Faced with the fact that 50% of the US adult population (a statistic replicated in other western countries) suffers from chronic disease or cancer, he has argued that any increase in activity is going to bring significant public health benefits." Particularly challenging is that "28% or men and 32% of women reported that they had not done any physical activity that lasted more than 10 minutes in the previous week of being asked."
But even if we do walk to improve our health, based on research cited in the article referenced below, it seems that we need to walk at sufficiently fast pace for walking to be beneficial. I'm not convinced about that and suggest we need more research in this area. I know walking was a major factor in helping me to recover from severe illness courtesy of my CLL impaired immune system. There's also growing evidence that walking can help us overcome or at least reduce fatigue that can often accompany CLL.
David Glance, (who works in the area of promoting activity using wearables and also owns shares in Fitbit) and is the Director of UWA Centre for Software Practice at University of Western Australia, has this to say about the benefits of walking:
Perhaps I should leave my camera at home occasionally and go for a brisk walk?
Neil
PS If you know where the inspiration for my title came from - Congratulations! For those still guessing; "I'm not responsible" might give you a clue in addition to perhaps being part of the answer as to why some people don't consider exercise important for their health.
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CLL is a long and winding road...walking a good bit of it has been extremely beneficial for me...
Never leave your camera at home... Neil... your shots are wonderful! .. the pictures you miss are the one's you will regret... I speak from a lifetime of... 'oh sh*t' where is my camera...
I find taking a walk really helps me overcome fatigue .I can feel quite tired but once I have a walk I come back refreshed .Must say though I only stroll .
What a great picture .I enjoy both yours and Chris's photos .
Please don't stop taking photos, they are so lovely and atmospheric, and like Cllcanada I've never got my camera with me whenever I see something worth snapping.
'Walking back to happiness' was, as far as I remember, a song by Sandie Shaw, the barefoot singer, many years ago (she was the same age as my sister, who I hasten to add is 18 months older than me!). I don't know any other connections, perhaps someone will enlighten me?.
But frankly ANYTHING that raises the heart rate and moves some muscles in the legs or arms will do the trick..
My preference is for cycling as this is easier on the knees than walking on hard tarmac, but also swimming is especially good in this regard.
Don’t forget that your neutrophils are prone to stick to the blood vessel walls and not circulate with the blood. Thus to gain the immune system benefits obtainable from your neutrophils you need to exercise some muscles and thus move the neutrophils around the body.
Thanks, Neil for your post and always appropriate photo! Walking has been my life saver this year despite exhaustion at times and new goals had to be set to regain fitness. Staying positive and making it a part of my social life boosted my energy after many physical relapses. I am rogaining (like orienteering ) again on Sunday! We are defending our Women's title from last year....mmm. To make a chance we will need to do 30+km in 6 hours, see how we go. I am so happy just to participate again and having fun (also not getting lost!!!) Ansll
My husband and I are walking every nite. We both groan and moan before we go but are so glad we did by the time we get home. When we started this spring we were walking a block! Now we are up to a mile. Our walk is not brisk but we don't care. We are both proud of ourselves. It really helps if you have someone to walk with. Maria
I play lots of bowls so love walking,I felt tired this morning and went for a stroll around the Marina and felt better after,I try not to give in to this awfull fatigue,Neil your photos are lovely
It was indeed Helen Shapiro's hit song that came to mind when I was searching for a suitable title. Interesting to note that Helen Shapiro also covered the hit 'Walk on by', but thanks to those who provided appreciative feedback and encouragement, I will continue to take my camera with me on my walks and not walk on by photo opportunities .
Chrisgranny, I'll have to see if I can find a topic for one of Sandie's hits, though hopefully not 'Puppet on a String' or you have to push it to 'Make it go'.
Go for it, Neil, I'll probably get that one wrong as well! Glad to hear your photos (and Chris's) will continue to cheer me up. How about a calendar in aid of CLL research?
There was talk of a fund raising calendar or book and suggestions that it be discussed at the Niagara Falls Patient Education meeting, but I think everyone had too much fun catching up with each other. I'm certain that we'd have no trouble finding sufficient content for a book, let alone a calendar, but I wouldn't want to be involved in working out which photos to include!!
A nice walk everyday is helping with my fatigue and my oncologist said I shouldn’t feel any fatigue since I’ve been at stage o for 7 years. And I agree any walking is better than no walking and getting out in the air is good for you. I was a baby in the 50 s and born in October and my mom said she used to put me outside in the cold to sleep. Something you wouldn’t t do today. Too dangerous.
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For those still guessing; "I'm not responsible" might give you a clue in addition to perhaps being part of the answer as to why some people don't consider exercise important for their health.
Peggy.
