Walking 50 miles a month means you would have to walk 30 minutes each day at a pace of 3.5 mph. Is your health worth it? Take a look at what you save and gain!

1. Get fit
Aerobic capacity: 19% increase
Physical function: 25% increase
Risk of disability: 41% decrease

2. Save on annual medical bills
Normal weight retiree: $3,300
Overweight: 2,500
Entire country: 1.4 trillion

Have you ever wondered why you can't get off the couch and exercise despite paying for an expensive gym membership, despite your New Year's resolutions, even despite the doctor's scolding at your last check-up? Turns out that your inertia may be coded right into your genes. Based on some intriguing, preliminary studies in animals, J. Timothy Lightfoot, a kinesiologist, and his team at University of North Carolina, Charlotte, suggest that genetics may indeed predispose some of us for sloth.

Using mice specially bred and selected according to their activity levels, Lightfoot identified 20 different genomic locations that work in tandem to influence activity levels in mice specifically, how far the animals will run. Lightfoot's team is the first to identify these genetic areas, and the first to figure out that they function in concert. The researchers say the areas they found on the mouse genome may have analogs in humans, and the UNC team is now gearing up to conduct a similar study in men and women. "We have put forward a fairly complete genomic map of the areas that are associated with regulation of physical activity," says Lightfoot, whose study is published in the current issue of the Journal of Heredity.

Inadequate sleep can lead to increased appetite, energy deficit and weight gain

As many as one in four people have some type of sleeping disorder, but only half are diagnosed, said researcher William G. Herbert, Ph.D., FACSM

Although much is still unknown about exactly how sleep and its restorative processes work, researchers have begun to uncover many of the ways in which missed sleep is detrimental, especially as it relates to exercise and health.

It's remarkable how little we actually know about sleep and its relation to the body, but we're learning,Herbert said. It's a complex area to investigate, but the opportunities to dig deeper into how sleep relates to health and physical activity are excellent.

Experts Say Walking Is One of the Easiest Paths to Fitness

If walking seems too simple to be an effective fitness method, think again: taking a stroll is an easy way to lower pressure and for the obese to increase aerobic fitness, according to three researchers who presented findings today at the 55th Annual Meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine.

A study of 14 morbidly obese patients was designed to determine if brisk walking alone was sufficient to serve as an aerobic training stimulus, increasing heart rate to at least 70 percent of maximum. Patients were asked to determine their own brisk walking pace, and walked for one mile. All 14 achieved at least 70 percent of maximum heart rate.

Obese patients have more body mass to move, causing the heart and cardiovascular system to have to work harder than a normal-weight person's would,Thomas Spring, M.S., said. Walking is a great way for the overweight and obese to begin an exercise program, because it can be done with little instruction or equipment and is low in cost.

Benefits of brisk walking also extend to people at-risk for high blood pressure. A British study looked at borderline hypertensive middle-aged men after they walked at various intensities and durations, to determine which type of walking reduced blood pressure the most.

Short durations of stretching prior to activity may not alter muscle strength, and appears to temporarily improve joint range of motion (ROM), suggests a study published in the August 2008 issue of Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise®, the official scientific journal of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). The outcomes add to the debate on whether pre-exercise stretching contributes to a deficit in muscle strength and performance.

The study focused on practical durations of lower-leg and ankle stretching in two, four and eight-minute segments among moderately active, nonathlete individuals. Researchers tested the individuals in intervals before and immediately after, and also 10, 20, and 30 minutes after stretching. Compared to no stretching at all among participants, the results indicated no stretching-induced changes in muscle strength, although there were improvements in ROM of the ankle joint.

Approximately one third of the U.S. adult population is overweight. The Year 2000 Objectives call for reducing the prevalence of overweight to 20 percent; thus weight control has become an important public health goal.

The most commonly reported method of weight loss is dieting. However, the long-term success rate of this method is quite poor. Indeed, only about ten to 30 percent of those who lose weight by reducing calories maintain their full weight loss over time.