Issue 179 Item 13 In a national survey, the highest percentage of regular walker

Experts are urging more people to take it on. walk everyday for 30 minutes.” That’s right. In addition to eating low-fat meals, you need to pound the pavement.

“All you really need is a good pair of shoes, walking improves balance and strengthens bones and muscles. So, not only are you living longer, but the quality of those years is better.

Walking lowers your risk of diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, heart attack, osteoarthritis, obesity and stroke. It is recommended you work up to walking 30 minutes a day, five days a week.

Studies have shown that you don’t even have to go it all at once. Get 10 minutes in this morning, 10 minutes in this afternoon and 10 minutes in this evening. So, park far away. And use the stairs.

Brisk walking one mile in 15 minutes burns about the same number of calories as jogging an equal distance in eight and a half minutes. Need another reason to walk? A recent study in the Annals of Internal Medicine shows regular exercise among men age 50 to 90 reduced incidence of erectile dysfunction by 30 percent

If you don’t have a program to increase physical activity for your company or practice, then go to www.firststepprogam.com

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FACT: Diabetes Masks Signs of Carpal Tunel Syndrome
Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) might not be detected by standard testing methods in people with diabetes, according to researchers in the US and Canada, who urge doctors to evaluate clinical symptoms In a study published in the March 2002 issue of Diabetes Care. Because electrodiagnostic testing often fails to detect carpal tunnel syndrome in people with diabetes, the researchers recommend that doctors make therapeutic decisions based on symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome in individuals with diabetes, independent of electrodiagnostic findings.