Walk Across Arkansas
Promotional Material - Media Article
I Have Started Exercising at Least a Thousand Times!
 Most people know they should increase their activity level by
walking or aerobics classes. In fact, many of you probably made a New Years'
resolution this year to start on January 1 and have already given up. Is there
any hope?
The answer is yes. Changing any habit requires several tries and
a great deal of effort for most people. Increasing your activity level can have
a great impact on your health both now and later in life.
A recent article in the Archives of Internal Medicine
reported on a study where 100 middle-aged women were encouraged to walk for
exercise while another 100 were not encouraged to walk. Ten years later, women
in the walking group had significantly less health problems than the non-walking
group of women. The women in the walking group were walking seven miles more
each week than those in the other group. Only 2% of the walking group were
diagnosed with heart disease, whereas almost 13% of the non-walkers had a
diagnosis of heart disease. Walkers also had fewer hospitalizations, surgeries,
and falls. Participating in the short-term walking program ten years earlier was
the main difference between these two groups!
So, trying again is important. Studies have shown that walking
with others and engaging in a program long enough to make walking a habit
promotes success. If you would like to get started now, call your county
Extension agent, at ____________________ and ask about Walk Across Arkansas.
This is a free, fun, group physical activity program. All you need is a group of
8 friends, family members, or co-workers who want to keep track of the amount
they walk for 8 weeks. You can encourage one another to keep going and see if
your team can reach your destination first before other groups participating do.
Walk Across Arkansas starts ____________________ and will end on
____________________.
We also offer information on weight loss. If you want to lose
weight, let us know. Classes will be held on ____________________ at
____________________. If you want to receive instructions by mail, we can do
that too.
Getting started is the hard part, but starting and keeping going
is much easier with the support of others!
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