Adding a few steps here and there — or perhaps, a few thousand steps — can improve heart health and reduce risks for diabetes and obesity, health officials said.
For 12 weeks this fall, thousands of Marylanders will be tracking their steps using pedometers with the goal of walking 10,000 steps — about five miles — a day.
The Get Fit Maryland program was developed by the University of Maryland Medicine Center, University of Maryland School of Medicine and Merritt Athletic Clubs.
“You can get a good objective measure about how much you are doing,” said Verlyn Warrington, medical director for Get Fit Maryland and an assistant professor of family and community medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.
Walking became Maryland’s official state exercise this year.
That magic number of steps has been proven to improve heart health, Warrington said, but the average American adult only walks about 900 to 3,000 steps a day.
Participants have until Friday to register and can sign up at any Merritt Athletic Club or at getfitmaryland.org.
