By LAURA UNGAR, Associated Press Science Writer

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Janet Rapp went quickly down a paved path through the city zoo, waving to friends and stopping briefly to greet emus she knows by name.

The 71-year-old pensioner starts every morning this way with a walking club.

“I’m obsessed,” she said. Not only does it relieve her joint pain, “it just gives me energy … And then it also calms me down.”

Medical experts agree that walking is an easy way to improve physical and mental health, strengthen fitness and prevent disease. While it is not the only type of exercise people should do, it’s a good first step towards a healthy life.

“You don’t need any equipment and you don’t need a gym membership,” says Dr. Sarah Eby, a sports medicine physician with Mass General Brigham. “And the benefits are so huge.”

What can walking do for you?

Walking can help meet the US Surgeon General’s recommendation that adults get at least 2 1/2 hours of moderate-intensity physical activity each week. This helps reduce the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, dementia, depression and many types of cancer.

Walking also improves blood sugar levels, is good for bone health and can help you lose weight and sleep better, added Julie Schmied, a nurse with Norton Healthcare, which runs the free Get Healthy Walking Club.

Another benefit? It’s a low-impact exercise that puts less stress on your joints because it strengthens your heart and lungs.

James Blankenship, 68, said joining the walking club at the Louisville Zoo last year helped him bounce back from a heart attack and triple bypass in 2022.

“My cardiologist says I’m fine,” he said.

For all its benefits, walking is “not enough for overall health and well-being” because it doesn’t provide resistance training that builds muscle strength and endurance, says Anita Gust, who teaches exercise science at the University of Minnesota Crookston.

It is especially important for women’s bone health as they age.

Experts recommend adding such activities at least twice a week – using weights, gym equipment or your own body as resistance – and doing exercises that improve flexibility such as yoga or stretching.

Do you really need 10,000 steps a day?

Almost everyone has heard of this hiking destination, which dates back to a 1960s marketing campaign in Japan. But experts emphasize that it is only a guideline.

The average American walks about 3,000 to 4,000 steps a day, and it’s good to gradually work up to 10,000, Shmied said.

Setting a time goal can also be useful. Shmied suggests breaking the recommended 150 minutes per week into 30 minutes a day, or 10 minutes three times a day, for five days. During bad weather, people can walk in malls or on treadmills.

As they become regular hikers, they can pick up the pace or challenge themselves with hills while keeping their activity level moderate.

“If you can talk but not sing,” Eby said, “that’s what we consider moderate-intensity exercise.”

How do you stay motivated?

Walking with friends – including dogs – is one way.

Hiking clubs have sprung up all over the country. In 2022, New York personal trainer Brianna Joye Kohn, 31, started City Girls Who Walk with a TikTok post inviting others to join her.