How much walking should you do to get fit and healthy?

While we know that walking is an excellent exercise for improving health and general fitness, most of us aren't sure about how long to do it and how vigorous it needs to be - but now we know.

Researchers have figured out the optimal amount - and intensity - of walking that will make a positive difference. They reckon that we need to walk for 30 minutes, five times a week and that we need to achieve a pace of 100 steps a minute, or 3000 steps in 30 minutes. Researchers from the San Diego State University say that people starting out should walk for no more than 10 minutes a day, achieving 1000 steps each time, before walking for longer periods. The steps are based on walking across level ground and there is also a very slight variance between men and women, with men needing to walk between 92 and 102 steps a minute, while women should aim to walk at a tempo of between 91 and 115 steps.