Many medical experts say that walking is an easy way to improve physical and mental health, support fitness and prevent disease.
许多医学专家说，散步是改善身心健康、保持健康和预防疾病的一种简单方法。
They advise that walking is a great first step toward a healthy life although other forms of exercise are also important.
他们建议步行是迈向健康生活的第一步，尽管其他形式的运动也很重要。
Dr. Sarah Eby is a sports medicine physician with Mass General Brigham in the state of Massachusetts.
萨拉·艾比博士是马萨诸塞州布里格姆总医院的运动医学医生。
Eby said walking has many good effects and people do not need extra things.
走路有很多好处，人们不需要额外的东西。
"You don't need equipment and you don't need a gym membership," Eby noted "And the benefits are so vast."
“你不需要设备，也不需要健身房会员资格，”艾比指出，“而且好处是如此巨大。"
The U.S. surgeon general, a federal health officer, recommends that adults get at least two and a half hours of moderate-intensity physical activity every week.
身为联邦卫生官员的美国卫生局局长建议成年人每周至少进行两个半小时中等强度的体育活动。
Walking helps meet that goal.
步行有助于实现这一目标。
Exercise lowers the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, dementia, depression and many kinds of cancer.
锻炼可以降低患心脏病、高血压、痴呆症、抑郁症和多种癌症的风险。
Walking also helps blood sugar levels, is good for bone health, and can help people lose weight and sleep better.
步行还有助于血糖水平，有利于骨骼健康，并可以帮助人们减肥和睡得更好。
That is what Julie Schmied said.
朱莉·施米德就是这么说的。
She is a health care worker with Norton Healthcare in Kentucky, which runs the free Get Healthy Walking Club.
她是肯塔基州诺顿医疗中心的一名医护人员，该中心经营着免费的“健康步行俱乐部”。
Walking is also a relatively low-impact exercise that puts less pressure on joints than other exercises while strengthening the heart and lungs.
步行也是一种相对低强度的运动，与其他运动相比，它对关节的压力更小，同时还能增强心肺功能。
James Blankenship is 68 years old.
詹姆斯·布兰肯希普现年68岁。
He said joining a walking club at the Louisville Zoo last year helped him recover after a heart attack and a complex triple-bypass heart operation in 2022.
他说，去年加入路易斯维尔动物园的一个步行俱乐部帮助他从心脏病发作和2022年复杂的三重搭桥手术中恢复过来。
"My cardiologist says I'm doing great," he said.
“我的心脏病专家说我做得很好，”他说。
Some say walking is not enough.
有人说只步行是不够的。
Anita Gust teaches exercise science at the University of Minnesota Crookston.
安妮塔·古斯特在明尼苏达大学克鲁克斯顿分校教授运动科学。
Gust said walking "is not enough for overall health and well-being" because it does not provide resistance training that builds muscle strength and endurance.
古斯特表示，步行“不足以促进整体健康和幸福”，因为它不能提供增强肌肉力量和耐力的阻力训练。
Some health experts say that is especially important for healthy bone development in women as they age.
一些健康专家表示，随着年龄的增长，这对女性骨骼的健康发育尤为重要。
Experts recommend adding other activities at least twice weekly.
专家建议每周至少增加两次其他活动。
These could include using weights, gym equipment or one's own body for resistance exercises.
这些方法包括举重、健身器材或自己的身体进行阻力练习。
Training that improves flexibility, like yoga or stretching, can also be helpful.
提高灵活性的训练，例如瑜伽或伸展运动，也可能很有帮助。
Many people have heard about the walking goal of 10,000 steps a day.
很多人都听说过每天10000步的步行目标。
This advice dates back to a 1960s marketing campaign in Japan.
这一建议可以追溯到20世纪60年代日本的一次营销活动。
But, experts note that this is only a guideline.
但是，专家指出，这只是一个指导方针。
Shmied said the average American walks about 3,000 to 4,000 steps a day, and it is fine to increase that number to 10,000.
施米德说，美国人平均每天步行约3，000至4，000步，将这个数字增加到10，000步也可以。
Setting a time goal can also be useful.
设定时间目标也很有用。
Shmied suggests dividing the recommended 150 minutes per week into 30 minutes a day, or 10 minutes three times a day, for five days.
施米德建议将每周建议的150分钟分成每天30分钟，或者每天三次，每次10分钟，连续五天。
During rainy or snowy weather, people can walk in malls or on treadmills.
在雨雪天气期间，人们可以在商场或跑步机上行走。
As they become seasoned walkers, they can speed up or walk up hills while still keeping the activity level moderate.
当他们成为经验丰富的步行者时，他们可以在保持适度运动量的同时加速或上山。
"If you can talk but not sing," Eby said, "that's what we consider moderate-intensity exercise."
“如果你能说话但不能唱歌，”艾比说，“那就是我们认为的中等强度运动。"
Walking with friends, including dogs, is one way to keep walking.
和朋友一起散步，包括狗，是保持散步的一种方式。
Walking clubs have appeared across the nation.
全国各地都出现了步行俱乐部。
In 2022, 31-year-old personal trainer Brianna Joye Kohn started City Girls Who Walk with a TikTok post inviting others to walk with her in New York.
2022年，31岁的私人教练布里安娜·乔伊·科恩在TikTok上发布了一个帖子，邀请其他人和她一起在纽约散步。
"We had 250 girls show up," she said.
“我们有250名女孩出席，”她说。
Since then, the group has walked every Sunday for around 40 minutes, with some meeting afterward for a meal or coffee.
从那时起，这群人每个周日都会步行约40分钟，然后一起吃饭或喝咖啡。
The Louisville Zoo launched its walking club in 1987.
路易斯维尔动物园于1987年推出了步行俱乐部。
It joined with Norton Healthcare in 2004 to expand it and now has more than 15,000 registered members.
它于2004年与诺顿医疗保健公司合作，扩大了它的规模，目前拥有超过1.5万名注册会员。
Every day from March 1 through October 31, people walk around the zoo before it officially opens.
从3月1日到10月31日，在动物园正式开放之前，人们每天都在动物园里绕圈走。
Recently, Janet Rapp walked down a path through the city zoo, waving at friends and stopping briefly to greet big flightless birds called emus that she knows by name.
最近，珍妮特·拉普走在城市动物园的一条小路上，向朋友们挥手致意，并短暂停下来向她叫得出名字的鸸鹋（emus）这种不会飞的大鸟打招呼。
The 71-year-old retiree starts each morning this way with a walking club.
这位71岁的退休人员每天早上都会以这种方式开始步行。
"I'm obsessed," she said.
“我很着迷，”她说。
Not only does it ease her joint pain, "it just gives me energy… And then it calms me, too."
它不仅缓解了她的关节疼痛，”它还给了我能量……然后它也让我平静下来。"
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小马里奥·里特报道。
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