May 2017 is the Living Streets’ National Walking Month. The Living Streets website provides top tips to encourage people to walk for 20 minutes every day. They have also provided an online “rate my walk” tool.

More about Living Streets, the charity behind National Walking Month

Living Streets is the UK charity for everyday walking and their aim is to create a walking nation that is free from congested roads and pollution reducing the risk of preventable illness and social isolation and to make walking the natural choice. They aim to get people of all generations to enjoy the benefits that walking brings and to ensure that all of our streets are fit for walking.

*Westfield Health who are one of the UK’s leading providers of cash plans have partnered with Living Streets again this year and have brought back the Walking Lunch, inviting people to reclaim their lunch break and get out walking. You can sign up with Westfield Health as a team or individual and track your steps on their leader board. With fantastic prizes available for the most active participants. Prizes include vouchers, fitness trackers and £1000 cash towards a health and wellbeing initiative in your workplace.

In 2016 Westfield inspired nearly 3000 people to walk over 72 million steps and this year the aim is to go bigger.

What are the benefits of including walking as your daily exercise?

There are many benefits of choosing to walk as your daily exercise, it is free, you can fit a walk into your own schedule, you can walk with friends, alone or in an organised group and it is a good way to discover more about your area.

A brisk walk is a good form of aerobic exercise and will help you to burn off calories although the amount of calories you burn would depend on your weight, age and fitness.

Information about Living Streets sourced from https://www.livingstreets.org.uk/

* Information sourced from https://www.westfieldhealth.com/walking-lunch/2017

SMP Healthcare Ltd is an independent specialist health insurance broker and if you would like to know more about cash plans including those provided by Westfield Health please do not hesitate to contact us on 01245 929129 or by email enquiries@smphealthcare.com