News: A really (really) easy way to cut your stroke risk by almost half

If you could do something to drastically improve your cardiovascular health, with little to no effort, would you?

Now’s your chance.

According to new research from the Murcia Regional Health Authority in Spain, all it takes is walking just three hours per week to reduce a woman’s stroke risk by 43 percent.

The Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology recommends similar activity levels. According to their website, adults aged 18 to 64 ‘should accumulate at least 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity per week.’

Given that there are about 168 hours in a week, using three of those hours to go for a few walks doesn’t seem like too much to ask. In fact, it would only require about two percent of the time in a week.

"The message for the general population remains similar: regularly engaging in moderate recreational activity is good for your health," lead author José Mar'a Huerta of the Murcia Regional Health Authority in Spain told Reuters Health.

Do you walk three hours a week? How do you fit walking into your schedule? Will you be more likely to make more time for exercise after reading this study?

-Katharine Watts, Associate Web Editor

Related:
‘ 4 ways to burn more calories when walking
‘ Our best healthy walking tips
‘ 12-week walking program