Getting too little exercise is a major risk factor for heart disease.

As a nation obsessed with fast food, video games and television, it’s not surprising that obesity rates and health problems rapidly are increasing. Kentucky is no exception. It ranks seventh in adult obesity and third in childhood obesity—both contributing to Kentucky’s fifth ranking in cardiovascular death.

Many jobs today involve little physical activity, leading to weight gain and other health issues for workers. For employers, that may translate into increased absenteeism, lost productivity and increased healthcare costs. For employees, that may mean poor health and poor quality of life.

There is a simple exercise, however, that nearly everyone can do to improve heart health:  walking.   

Walking has the lowest drop-out rate of any physical activity, and it’s the simplest positive change individuals can make to improve heart health.

Research has shown walking and moderate physical activity for at least 30 minutes on most days of the week can help:

• Reduce the risk of coronary heart disease
• Improve blood pressure, blood sugar and blood lipid levels
• Maintain body weight
• Enhance mental well-being
• Reduce the risk of osteoporosis
• Reduce the risk of many cancers, including breast, colon, thyroid and prostate
• Reduce the risk of non-insulin dependent (type 2) diabetes

In fact, the American Heart Association says for every hour of regular, vigorous activity you do, you can live two hours longer.

The cost of walking is free, but the benefits are priceless. Your heart will become stronger. Your breathing will become easier. And your body will become healthier.

To educate the community about the benefits of walking, Western Baptist has partnered with the American Heart Association to bring Start!, a free workplace walking program, to its employees.

Now, as the region’s first sponsor for Start!, we’re happy to share the program with interested companies so they can help their own employees become fit and take an active role in their personal health.

Western Baptist Hospital wants not only its own employees, but also the community, to have better heart health. Educating the community on heart disease and improving cardiac health are important goals of the Baptist Heart Center.

Ask your employer to consider Start! for your workplace. To get a free kit, filled with resources and tools to develop and initiate a workplace walking program at your business, phone Western Baptist at (270) 575-2777 or visit westernbaptist.com and click on the Start! icon on our homepage.

To learn more about the risk factors, symptoms and treatment for heart disease, visit westernbaptist.com/heart. You can take a free, five-minute online heart risk survey and become eligible for reduced-cost cardiac screenings at Baptist Prime Care. You also may phone Baptist Health Line at (270) 575-2918.

Send your questions!

Do you have a cardiac question tugging at your heart? Send it to heartbeat@bhsi.com or mail it to HeartBeat, 2501 Kentucky Ave., Paducah, KY 42003. If we use it in a future HeartBeat column, you will win a Baptist Heart Center T-shirt.

Editing note:  Val, we’ll want to use our Start! logo in our column this month, as well as the attached photo. Tight-crop on the employees walking. Thanks!