Let's be frank.

We live in a society that, over the years, became more modern and techy:

automatic devices, remote controls, powered tools, and many more. We live in an energy-saving,

time-saving, and comfortable society. It is a convenient life. Or is it? We have welcomed these

luxuries into our lives, but others blame these for individuals becoming passive, sluggish couch

potatoes. Now is the right time to begin so that we can appreciate the physical and psychological

benefits that walking gives us for the rest of our lives. I am pushing you to get up and get your

body moving. I want to persuade you to habituate yourself to walk a healthy amount of time

every day.

Here in the Philippines, Filipinos live a sedentary lifestyle, which risks people's health. Statistics

say that consumers in the Philippines spend approx. 4.9 hours every week watching television,

while others spent 2.5 hours listening to the radio. That's at least 50 hours in a whole week of just

lounging around at the comfort of their homes. In the same survey, Filipino consumers spend 95

percent of their time watching TV every month. A study also states that the Philippines is part of

the countries with the highest gender exercise gap worldwide. While there is nothing wrong with

watching television and relaxing, allotting almost all of your time to just sitting and lying around

in one whole month isn't healthy for you. While it may give us more time to lounge and not do

anything, but not having enough physical activity, is negatively affecting your body. Even if you

don't notice these effects immediately, if you don't do anything about it, it will progressively get

worse.

Physical inactivity, in the long run, exposes us to a lot of health risks. An obesity specialist,

James A. Levine, concluded in 2005 that any extended sitting is harmful. Relaxing and sitting for
too many hours a day can do more bad than good to your body. It limits your movement, and

because you are relaxed, time goes by so fast that you don't notice how long you've been sitting

for the whole day. It exposes to higher risks of different health conditions. An article posted by

John Hopkins Medicine stated that physical inactivity contributes to health conditions like risks

of certain cancers, cardiovascular diseases, etc. But, fortunately, a simple but effective exercise

that we can do is walking. A study shows that people who engage in more physical activity such

as walking are less likely to develop coronary heart disease and be overweight or obese. Physical

inactivity does not only affect our physical health but our psychological health as well.

Therefore, walking isn't only beneficial for our physical health but is also advantageous for our

psychological well-being.

A good walk does so much for our mental well-being. Walking improves our perception of

ourselves and self-esteem, mood, sleep quality, and helps reduce fatigue, stress, and anxiety.

Because of its physical benefits, it helps improve how we see ourselves. Setting a goal for

yourself to take a walk every day will motivate you more to do it, and achieving that goal helps

your self-esteem and confidence because you have realized that you can do it, you've seen what

you are capable of doing. A study also states that physically active people have a 30% reduced

risk of becoming depressed. Staying active is also said to have helped those with depression

recover because, as stated earlier, it improves how we see ourselves, our mood, and our

confidence. With older people, staying active improves memory and attention span, cognitive

function, and processing speed. It also reduces the risk of cognitive decline and dementia.
Filipinos have lived a sedentary life. Some have spent their lives being physically inactive,

without knowing how much damage this can do to not only their physical health but mentally as

well. I urge you to make daily walks a habit, a simple and easy activity, yet very beneficial for

your health. Take 20 minutes of your day and walk around your neighborhood. Walk instead of

driving to a local store near you. Get up, move off of that couch, and walk for the sake of your

heart and your mind.