“Let’s not make any more excuses! Walking 10,000 steps has been around before the stone age. Regular walking can help you reduce your risk of health conditions like type 2 diabetes, stroke, heart disease and various types of cancer.”
These are the words of Pedestrian Council Chairman, Harold Scruby ahead of Walk to Work Day next week which support Diabetes Australia in promoting health and wellness in your personal life and your workplace.
Celebrating its 22nd anniversary, Walk to Work Day is an initiative championed by the Pedestrian Council that aims to raise awareness of the health, transport and environmental benefits that regular walking (especially to and from work) can provide for the long-term well-being of our adult workforce.
“Walking 10,000 steps a day is a terrific target to incorporate physical activity into your daily routine,” said Mr Scruby.
“Many people can walk at least 1km to and from work, so set the alarm 30 minutes earlier and create a great example for your kids, friends and colleagues at work. If you’re working from home, take a walk before you start work or hold a walking meeting.”
Employers have an important role to play in encouraging their staff to build walking into their daily routine. Walking promotes better physical, mental and social health for all Australians and can make employees more productive, reduce stress and improve their general health.
Diabetes is one of the major challenges confronting Australia’s health system and is a major cause of heart and kidney disease, limb amputation, and vision loss. Over 1.5 million Australians are diagnosed with diabetes and another 500,000 living with silent, undiagnosed type 2 diabetes with more than 120,000 people diagnosed in the past 12 months alone.
Small changes to your behaviour like walking to and from work, walking meetings, taking a walk at lunchtime, using the stairs instead of the lift and step challenges with your colleagues are just some of the ways you can start making a difference in your personal health and wellbeing.
If you work from home, take regular breaks and walk around the block to stop sedentary behaviour. Scruby went on to say that regular walking also helps relieve feelings of depression or anxiety and improves our environment by reducing our dependency on cars.
“Best of all – walking is free!” he said.
So, how can you and your workplace get involved on Friday 2 September?
• If you can’t walk all the way, use public transport and get off the bus, train, tram or ferry a few stops earlier and walk the rest of the way to work
• If you do need to drive, leave the car a kilometre or two from your destination and walk the rest of the way
• If working from home, make sure you take regular breaks and walk as much as you can throughout the day
• Take a half-hour walk at lunchtime
• Where possible use the stairs rather than escalators or the lift
• If you sit at a desk, be sure to get up and walk around at least once every hour
• Get up and talk to your colleagues instead of sending them emails
• Rather than holding meetings around a table or over zoom, host a ‘walking meeting’
• Challenge your work mates and compare your step stats in the lead-up to the day Diabetes Australia is the national body for the 1.5 million Australians diagnosed with diabetes as well as those at risk. It is committed to reducing the impact of all types of diabetes and work in partnership with people with diabetes, health professionals and researchers.
Walk to Work Day is on Friday September 2nd. For more information, head to the website.
More News
