How many steps did you walk today?

A recent survey suggests more than 500,000 people will waste about £200 million on gym membership this year. Few of us will be surprised by this.

Full of good intentions, millions of us make promises to lose weight and get fit, but most of us do very little about it apart from parting with our hard-earned cash to pay for what someone has aptly termed ‘membership to guilt’. Another recently-published report, this time from the Parliamentary Select Committee Inquiry into Obesity, paints an apocalyptic picture of the public health consequences if waistlines continue to expand at the present rate.

These reports tell us two important things. Firstly, despite being aware of the importance of regular physical activity and our willingness to spend money on gym memberships, most of us still fail to maintain even a moderately active lifestyle. Secondly, our increasingly sedentary lifestyle has potentially serious health consequences – the current epidemic of obesity and diabetes in both children and adults being a dramatic and worrying example. So why do we find it so difficult to make time for regular exercise?

Activities of daily living
Part of the problem is the time pressures that most of us have to contend with - if anything has to go, it’s usually the visit to the gym or the health club. Even those who are regular ramblers at weekends or at holiday time may be relatively inactive during the week. What we need is a way of incorporating physical activity into our everyday lives – our activities of daily living - which is precisely why walking is such a great option. Walking is a natural, safe, convenient and inexpensive form of physical activity. Given the average annual gym subscription is around £375, walking is also remarkably good value for money! But how much walking do you need to do to maintain health and prevent disease and how will you know if you are achieving this? Click here to find out.

Get a Yamax Digi-Walker pedometer and start walking !