On April 8, people working in Northern Santa Barbara County were set to take their first steps toward maintaining a more active lifestyle during National Start! Walking Day.
Dozens of Santa Marians, including Mayor Larry Lavagnino, planned to meet on the lawn in front of Marian Medical Center for a 30-minute walk along Church Street. The national Start! Walking event calls on all members of the workforce to become a “walkforce” by incorporating at least 30 minutes of walking into their day schedules.
“More and more jobs in today’s workforce are sedentary,” Kristine Kelly, a representative for the American Heart Association, told the Sun. “The lack of exercise or movement increases a person’s risk of heart disease and stroke.”
According to statistics from the American Heart Association, Americans now work on average 164 hours per year more than people did 20 years ago. As demand on employees increases, lifestyles become less active, and workers become more susceptible to health risks.
“Start! is a way for people to pledge to walk and move more,” Kelly said, adding that the American Heart Association likes walking as an activity of choice because “it’s free, it’s easy, and it has the lowest dropout rate of any other physical activity.”
Start! Walking is a kickoff event for the Heart Walk, which is held every fall in cities across the nation, including Santa Maria and San Luis Obispo.
For more information about the American Heart Association and its walking programs, visit heart.org.
This article appears in Apr 9-16, 2009.