New fitness trends pop up all the time, but walking is one form of exercise that’ll never go out of style. It’s low-impact, universally appealing and easy to get into – all you need are a pair of comfortable, supportive shoes and a path to walk on, and the world truly is your oyster.

That’s not forgetting the myriad of benefits that walking has been linked to. Over the last couple of years alone, countless studies have linked a regular walking habit to everything from increased longevity to better cardiovascular health, with more research coming out regularly.

To give you a sense of everything walking has to offer, we’ve put together this list of all the proven benefits for your body and mind. Whether you’re looking to improve a specific aspect of your health or just need some inspiration to get outside for your daily stroll, keep reading to check them out.  

Several studies have linked a regular walking habit to an increased lifespan, suggesting walking can provide benefits for all-around health and wellbeing.

One study also revealed that adults who walked 6,000 steps a day had a reduced risk of all-cause mortality. Another found that people with multiple chronic health conditions could add three years to their lives by doing 10 minutes of brisk walking a day.

Women are at an increased risk of osteoporosis as we age due to the drop in oestrogen that occurs after menopause, but walking can help to reduce our risk. A study published in the journal PLoS One in 2022 concluded that taking a brisk walk for 30 minutes a day at least three times a week could help to prevent bone strength loss in premenopausal women. And it doesn’t necessarily matter how fast you walk: another study, published in Preventive Medicine in 2023, found that the number of steps (or the duration of a walk) matter more in terms of positive impact on bone health. 

Walking’s benefits for bone health could be linked to our hormones. Dr Fiona MacRae, an NHS doctor, psychologist and hormonal health expert at the Marion Gluck Clinic, previously told Strong Women that walking for exercise “is known to boost anabolic (or building) hormones such as testosterone, DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone) and growth hormone, while reducing catabolic (or breakdown) hormones such as cortisol and thyroid hormones. The overall result is an increase of muscle and healthy bone mineral density.”

Daily walking can dramatically increase your lung capacity, making it easier for you to breathe in the long term (one study published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health found that a structured walking plan improved the lung capacity of healthy older adults). This is all to do with the fact that walking is a form of cardio exercise; as your heart rate increases you take deeper breaths to keep the blood oxygenated, fully inflating the lungs as a result.

While it’s not going to be as effective as pumping iron in the gym, walking can build muscle – at least when you first start doing it. Indeed, one study that looked at the impact of a 10-week walking programme on muscle quality and size in healthy older individuals recorded a clear increase after the programme ended.

“The steps can help with muscle strengthening, particularly in the lower body and core muscles,” Dr Vikram Murthy, NHS GP and co-founder of the Harley Street Murthy Clinic, previously told Strong Women. “This form of movement will help tighten, lift and tone your muscles. It’ll also help to push blood through all the vessels throughout the whole body, and to your muscles too, ensuring they are well perfused [have a good blood supply].” 

Because our bodies are primed to adapt to these kinds of challenges, you’d need to find ways to keep challenging your body if you want to ensure you keep gaining muscle through walking. That might include wearing a weighted vest or tackling a steep incline.

Living a long life is one thing, but remaining as healthy as possible for those years should be the goal. But the good news about walking is that, as well as increasing your lifespan, it can also reduce your biological age – a measure of how fast your body is ageing. 

One study, published in the journal Nature in 2022, found that a lifetime of brisk walking (aka at a pace that gets your heart rate elevated) could lead to having a biological age that is 16 years younger than your real age in midlife. 

Studies have shown that walking can have both short- and long-term benefits for our brain health. 

One, published in Biological Sciences in 2018, found that just 10 minutes of light physical activity such as walking can boost brain connectivity and help the brain to distinguish between similar memories. Another, published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease in 2021, found that brisk walking five times a week helps combat brain ageing and memory loss by encouraging blood flow.

A 2022 meta-analysis showed that walking 10,000 steps a day can significantly improve mental health by reducing symptoms of depression and anxiety. Most of us were able to feel these benefits for ourselves during the pandemic, when daily walking helped to boost our wellbeing. 

Particular forms of walking tend to be more beneficial for mental health than others. Awe walking, for example, has been found to offer relief from stress, loneliness, depression and anxiety, while aimless walking – a term coined by Strong Women’s Lauren Geall to describe a walk without any real aim or destination – can be a great way to allow your mind to wander.

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