You don’t need to be a gym junkie or adopt a radical diet to get in better shape. Modest changes are easy to achieve. Trot up the escalator rather than riding it, get out of a lift one floor early . Taking six flights of 12 step stairs three times a day could burn 450 calories in a typical week. That’s the same sort of burn you’d get from a strenuous exercise class.The small additional challenge to your leg muscles, lungs and heart could have a massive impact on your long-team health. One Swiss study found that people who climbed stairs around 20 times a day over three months showed a significant improvement in fitness, and reductions in blood pressure, weight and cholesterol.
Give up short car journeys
Get a local map and draw a one kilometer circle around your home, then put in place a family rule: if any destination is less than a kilometer away, walk it.
A one kilometer walk burns around 62 calories and regular walking has been shown to prevent dementia, depression and heart problems. In a study of over 334,000 people for the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition, researchers found that taking a 20 minute brisk walk each day could reduce the risk of premature death by between 16 and 30 percent.” This is a simple message,”says professor Ulf Ekelund, one of the lead researchers. “ Just a small amount of physical activity each day could have substantial health benefits for people who are physically inactive”
