Today, many civilized countries are facing the highest incidence of obesity, disease and orthopedic injury than ever before in recorded history. Even worse we are experiencing this ill health in spite of the fact that we have the greatest number of medical doctors using some of the most advanced medical technology than ever before. Knowing this, if there are things we can do for ourselves, we best get moving now!

There are a few factors that can be correlated with our declining health, such as:

• A tremendous increase in the consumption of medical drugs (85 percent of Americans are on at least one prescription drug!)
• Replacing water consumption with caffeinated and sugar-laden beverages
• A massive decline in food quality due to soil depletion and use of industrial farming technology, as well as a huge increase in the quantity of processed foods
• Lack of exercise!

These points merely scratch the surface of reasons why people are becoming so sickly, but I am only going to address the last point in this article.

While many of you could, and probably do, have many reasons why you don't participate in a regular, structured exercise program, none of you can honestly say that you don't have time to walk! The human body is not only designed for daily movement, it is essential for optimal physiological function, which contributes to health and well-being. To demonstrate my point, consider the following benefits of walking:

Metabolism and Walking
Walking is one of the most primal movement patterns known to man. Because walking was essential to our survival during our developmental years, our bodies have developed so that walking and movement are essential to health; as it has been said, form follows function.

Walking requires the integrated use of our arms, legs and torso. Hundreds of calorie-burning muscles are utilized simply by walking. Walking briskly on a daily basis not only results in calorie burning, it increases enzyme and metabolic activity that may result in increased calorie consumption for up to 12 hours after walking as little as 2 miles. The more deconditioned you are, the greater the metabolic effect of walking.

Increased metabolism means more than simply burning calories, it means that your body will be more likely to draw in nutrients from your food and supplements. It also means that your desire to drink more water will increase, which will support all your bodily systems of detoxification and elimination, and will improve digestion.