Why You Should Take a Walk After You Have a Meal -

When Should You Walk After a Meal?

While experts have mixed opinions on exactly how soon to walk after meals, they generally agree that it’s good to get moving as soon as you can — ideally within a half an hour of eating.

“As long as you feel comfortable walking right after you finish eating, that is a good time,” says Sheri Colberg, PhD, professor emerita of exercise science at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia.

Research has found significant improvements in blood sugar and other so-called cardiometabolic risk factors when people took a walk instead of standing still or sitting after meals.

How Long Should You Walk After Meals?

There are no hard and fast rules on how long you should walk for. It’s possible to benefit even from a brief, leisurely stroll. Health improvements have been seen even with walking at a slow pace for as little as two to five minutes.

Want to kick it up a notch? Taking a 15-minute walk after each meal may further improve your cardiometabolic health.

“There’s no step distance or number of steps you need to reach to feel the benefits of walking after eating,” says Heather Viola, DO, an assistant professor of internal medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. “One person’s ideal walk length may be different from another’s.”

If you’re just starting out with a new walking routine, aim for 10 minutes, Viola advises. As that starts to feel comfortable, gradually increase the duration of your walks.

What’s more important is picking an amount of time you can stick to and make a daily habit, says Loretta DiPietro, PhD, MPH, a professor of exercise and nutrition sciences at the Milken Institute School of Public Health at George Washington University in Washington, DC. “This must be repeated regularly for the benefits to continue.”

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