With so much attention these days being focused on the overprescription of meds-from opioids (around 32 percent of prescriptions are used inappropriately) to antibiotics (at least 30 percent are unnecessary, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)-it's nice to find one prescription that simply cannot be overprescribed; in fact, upping your dosage might be good for you! That prescription is for walking.
A recent Canadian study of 364 patients (66 percent of the volunteers had Type 2 diabetes, and 90 percent had hypertension) uncovered the power of getting an actual written prescription for walking! Seventy-four doctors wrote out the instructions to their patients: Get a pedometer and increase how much you usually walk by 3,000 steps a day. Lo and behold! Those folks did step up their daily walking by 20 percent and were rewarded with improved blood sugar levels, lowered insulin resistance and reduced hypertension.
In an Australian study, folks older than 55 who put in an extra 4,300 steps a day saw a 30 percent lower need for hospital care than those who didn't. And at the Cleveland Clinic, post-heart-attack cardio rehab puts walking at the top of the to-do list.
So ask your doc for a walking Rx; get a pedometer (your smartphone has one); set a monthly steps-per-day-goal that increases over time. Make sure you have feet-lovin' walking shoes; and enlist a walking buddy. You're aiming for 10,000 total steps a day or the equivalent.
Mehmet Oz, M.D. is host of "The Dr. Oz Show," and Mike Roizen, M.D. is Chief Wellness Officer and Chair of Wellness Institute at Cleveland Clinic. To live your healthiest, tune into "The Dr. Oz Show" or visit www.sharecare.com.
(c) 2017 Michael Roizen, M.D. and Mehmet Oz, M.D.