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Share on Pinterest Taking daily walks could increase your life span by up to 11 years, new research finds. Fertnig/Getty ImagesA new study says that regular walking could help you live longer.Those who were most active moved the equivalent of 160 minutes of walking per day.People who are not very active could gain as much as 11 years of life by walking more.Walking increases life span by improving cardiometabolic health.Its important to start slow and build up to your walking goal.

According to a study published online on November 14, 2024, in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, getting less physical activity is linked with premature death.

However, the researchers found that increasing physical activity for example, taking daily walks could extend how long people live.

If people were as active as the top one-quarter of Americans, they could live around 5 years longer.

Additionally, if people who are among the least active brought their activity up to this level, they might add an additional 11 years to their lives.

The authors further speculated that infrastructure changes like walkable neighborhoods and green spaces, which help promote activities like biking and walking, could lead to greater longevity within the general population. Greater physical activity linked to living longer

To conduct their study, the researchers gathered data from people older than age 40, which was collected via activity trackers for the 2003-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).

They also used 2019 U.S. Census data as well as 2017 death data gleaned from the National Center for Health Statistics.

The team then created a mathematical model to predict how different levels of physical activity could influence how long people lived.

They found that the 25% of individuals who were most active engaged in activity levels equivalent to walking 160 minutes every day at a pace of 3 mph.

Based on this, they estimated that if all people boosted their activity to this level, they could increase their life expectancy from 78.6 to 84 years an increase of over 5 years.

However, being in the lowest 25% of activity was associated with a decrease in life expectancy of around 6 years.

If these less active individuals logged an additional 111 minutes of walking each day, though, they could conceivably experience even greater benefits, living nearly 11 years longer. How walking might increase longevity

John Lowe, MD, a physician at Restore Care specializing in preventive health and lifestyle medicine, who was not involved in the study, explained that regular walking has several beneficial effects that contribute to a longer life.

It can help you decrease your resting heart rate, manage cholesterol, and reduce your chances of heart attack or stroke.

Walking can be useful for glucose metabolism, he added, because [it is] known to enhance insulin actions, which would enable better blood sugar management and reduce the chances of type 2 diabetes. A walk after meals is particularly effective for blood glucose control.

Regular walking can also protect the body from systemic inflammation, according to Lowe. Systemic inflammation has been associated with several chronic diseases in epidemiological studies.

Maintaining a walking routine helps downregulate inflammatory markers, including C-reactive protein (CRP), which helps improve immune system responsiveness and maintain cellular health, he concluded. How to get started walking more daily steps

Dr. Sean Ormond, a pain management doctor with Atlas Pain Specialists, who was also not a part of the study, said that walking doesnt have to take a large commitment to make a difference for you.

Start with small, doable changes that fit into your daily life, he said. For example, instead of finding the closest parking spot, park farther away and enjoy the walk. Swap the elevator for the stairs when you can. Take five- or ten-minute walking breaks during your workday maybe a quick lap around your house, office, or even your yard.

Ormond added that taking a gentle walk after meals can be beneficial because it helps you digest your food and doesnt feel like exercise.

If you have kids or pets, make walking a family affair, he suggested. [I]ts a great way to bond while staying active.

If youd like to take a more structured approach, Ormond said step-counting apps and fitness trackers can make walking more fun. Set small, realistic goals, like an extra 500 steps a day, and build from there, he said.

Also, he said that people shouldnt become discouraged if the 160 minutes of activity mentioned in the study seems like a daunting goal.

Every step you take is a step toward better health, said Ormond. What matters most is consistency.

So, lace up your shoes and see where a walk can take you physically, mentally, and emotionally. Its one of the easiest ways to nurture your body and mind for years to come, he said. Takeaway

A new study has found that greater amounts of physical activity are associated with living longer.

Setting a goal to walk 160 minutes per day could increase peoples lifespan by around 5 years.

Also, those people who are least active could increase their longevity by as much as 11 years.

Walking helps you live longer because it has beneficial effects on your cardiometabolic health.

To get started with walking, make small, realistic changes, keep things fun, and build up slowly.

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Politics

Wes Streeting denies Labour has made ‘mistakes’ with ‘unpopular’ policies despite poor local election results

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Wes Streeting denies Labour has made 'mistakes' with 'unpopular' policies despite poor local election results

Health Secretary Wes Streeting has defended “unpopular” policies such as the cut to the winter fuel allowance despite Labour’s poor performance at the local elections.

Mr Streeting denied the government had made any mistakes when asked whether the policy was partly to blame for the party losing 189 council seats less than a year since the General Election.

Since coming into government last July, Labour has enacted a number of policies that were not in its manifesto.

These include means-testing winter fuel payments for pensioners, increasing employers’ national insurance contributions and slashing £5bn from the welfare bill.

Asked what mistakes his government had made so far that had led to its drubbing at the ballot box, Mr Streeting told Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips: “Well, we will make plenty of mistakes.”

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Pressed again on whether he believed “mistakes” had been made, the health secretary replied: “No. When we made those choices, we knew they would be unpopular. And we knew that they would be opposed.

“The reason we made those choices is because we genuinely believe they’re the right choices to get the country out of the massive hole it was left in. And right across the board. Whether it’s the NHS, whether it’s schools, whether it’s prisons, whether it’s our defence and security, whether it’s crime and policing, there were enormous challenges facing this country when we came in.

“And we’ve had to make big and sometimes unpopular decisions so that we can face those challenges and deal with them. People might thank us if we just kind of go for the easy but we want to make the right choices.”

Some Labour MPs have urged the government to change direction, with one telling Sky News the cut to winter fuel was a “catastrophic error” that must be “remedied” if the party is to see any improvement in public opinion.

Others have warned that in courting Reform voters, the party risks fracturing its coalition of voters on the left who may be tempted by the Liberal Democrats and Green Party.

However, in the aftermath of the local elections, Sir Keir Starmer suggested the poor results meant he needed to go “further and faster” in delivering his existing agenda.

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Inside Reform’s election success

The real victor to emerge from Thursday’s local elections was Reform UK, which won control of 10 councils and picked up 677 council seats largely at the expense of the Conservatives in the south.

However, Reform also won the Runcorn by-election from Labour by just six votes, as well as control of Doncaster Council from Labour – the only local authority it had control of in this set of elections – in a significant win for Nigel Farage and his party.

The Reform UK leader declared that two-party politics was now “finished” and that his party was now the official “opposition” to Labour.

Asked whether the results meant that Labour would now treat Reform as “your most serious opposition”, Mr Streeting said: ” I certainly do treat them as a serious opposition force.”

“As I say, I don’t know whether it will be Reform or the Conservatives that emerge as the main threat,” he added.

“I don’t have a horse in that race, but like alien versus predator, I don’t really want either one to win.”

Read more:
Reform’s mission to ‘remoralise’ young people
Reform has put the two traditional parties on notice

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Reform UK are ‘fighting force’

Tory Party chairman Nigel Huddleston said Reform UK was not just a protest party and that Mr Farage was “a force in British politics”.

He told Trevor Phillips: “But the one thing about Nigel Farage is, and we’re seeing this again and again and again, he is a populist.

“He is increasingly saying everything that anybody wants to hear. He’s trying to be all things to all men.”

“We are establishing ourselves as a credible alternative government based on sound conservative principles and values and our values and our principles, and therefore our policies, will define the future of our party,” he added.

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Environment

It’s back: Hyundai IONIQ 5 qualifies for $7,500 tax credit – again!

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It's back: Hyundai IONIQ 5 qualifies for ,500 tax credit – again!

The Hyundai IONIQ 5 got a raft of upgrades and sporty, rally-focused XRT trim level for 2025 – but the biggest upgrade for the Made in America Hyundai might be this: the 5 has regained eligibility for the full $7,500 federal EV tax credit!

Despite being assembled at Hyundai’s Georgia meta plant for the last four month, the 2025 Hyundai IONIQ 5 was nowhere to be found on the EPA’s list of rebate-eligible vehicles. But that was then – with a fresh updated to the list coming online May 1st, Hyundai’s new-age electric hot hatch is back in the rebate game.

It’s worth noting that lease customers had been able to access the incentive under some circumstances, but this latest update to the EPA list makes it possible for cash and payment buyers to take advantage of the full Federal incentive, too – as long as they earn less than $300,000 as a married couple filing jointly, less than $225,000 as a head of household, or less than $150,000 as an individual.

With the $7,500 federal tax credit in the equation, you can get a new 2025 IONIQ 5 for somewhere in between $36,575 and $49,475, well under the $80,000 Federal MSRP cap.

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Victory lap

As if to celebrate, Hyundai announced that it was taking on the celebrate One Lap of America road rayy and race event in a factory collaboration with the track-focused enthusiasts at Grassroots Motorsports this week with One Lap veterans Andy Hollis and Tom Suddard campaigning a stock, 601 hp 2025 Hyundai IONIQ 5 N in the Alternative Fuels class.

“After winning our class in a gutted, caged race car last year, we wanted to compete in the best-of-all worlds this year: A vehicle that’s incredibly fast, incredibly comfortable on a road trip, and incredibly capable on a racetrack,” explains Suddard. “Electrification means it’s finally possible to have huge power without huge compromises in a street car, and the IONIQ 5 N promises to pair that huge power with the durability and capability to survive a week of racing.”

One Lap is widely regarded as one of the toughest street-legal motorsports events in the world, pitting amateur and professional drivers alike compete in stock and heavily modified vehicles of every description, battling it out in a series of scored challenges, including timed events at road courses, drag strips, skid pads, and autocross courses.

In between tracks, competitors safely travel thousands of miles around the country, proving the mettle and durability of the vehicles and the teams that drive them. This year, 86 teams from all over the country will compete in 17 scored events over the course of eight days at tracks like Virginia International Raceway and NCM Motorsports Park.

The Tire Rack One Lap of America is currently underway – you can track the Hyundai’s progress here, then let us know what you think of this new tax development in the comments.

SOURCES | IMAGES: Hyundai, One Lap of America; FuelEconomy.gov.


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Politics

It is ‘feasible’ Nigel Farage could be the next prime minister, says Kemi Badenoch

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It is 'feasible' Nigel Farage could be the next prime minister, says Kemi Badenoch

Kemi Badenoch has admitted it is “feasible” that Nigel Farage could become the next prime minister.

The Tory leader told the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme Mr Farage’s party was “expressing the feeling of frustration that a lot of people around the country are feeling” – but added it was her job to “come up with answers and solutions”.

Asked if it was feasible that Mr Farage could be the next prime minister, she cited how Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had won re-election this weekend.

“As I said, anything is feasible,” she said. “Anthony Albanese: people were writing him off. He has just won a landslide, but my job is to make sure that he [Farage] does not become prime minister because he does not have the answers to the problems the country is facing.”

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Could Nigel Farage be prime minister?

Asked what Mr Farage was doing right, Ms Badenoch said: “He is expressing the feeling of frustration that a lot of people around the country are feeling.

“But he also doesn’t have a record in government like the two main parties do. Now he’s going to be running some councils. We’ll see how that goes.”

Mr Farage was the undoubted winner of Thursday’s local elections, in which 23 councils were up for grabs.

His party picked up 677 council seats and took control of 10 councils.

By contrast, the Conservatives lost 677 council seats as well as control of 18 councils in what was their worst local elections performance on record.

Mr Farage said the outcome spelt the end of two-party politics and that his party was now the official “opposition” to Labour – with the Tories having been rendered a “waste of space”.

Read more:
Reform has put the two traditional parties on notice

‘I get it’: Starmer responds after losing Runcorn by-election

Ms Badenoch said she believed the vote for Mr Farage on Thursday was partly down to “protest” but added: “That doesn’t mean we sit back. We are going to come out fighting.

“We are going to come out with the policies that people want to see, but what we are not going to do is rush out and tell the public things that are not true just so we can win votes.

“This is not about winning elections; this is about fixing our country. Yes, of course, you need to win elections to do that, but you also need a credible plan.”

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‘Farage is a force in British politics’

Conservative co-chairman Nigel Huddleston sought to play down the threat from Reform UK, telling Sky News: “When they’re in a position of delivering things, that’s when the shine comes off.”

He told Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips: “The one thing about Nigel Farage is, and we’re seeing this again and again and again, he is a populist.

“He is increasingly saying everything that anybody wants to hear. He’s trying to be all things to all men.”

“We are establishing ourselves as a credible alternative government based on sound conservative principles and values and our values and our principles, and therefore our policies, will define the future of our party,” he added.

Asked whether the results meant that Labour would now treat Reform as “your most serious opposition”, Health Secretary Wes Streeting told Trevor Phillips: ” I certainly do treat them as a serious opposition force.”

“As I say, I don’t know whether it will be Reform or the Conservatives that emerge as the main threat,” he added.

“I don’t have a horse in that race, but like alien versus predator, I don’t really want either one to win.”

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