Does walking count as exercise?

Walking has an image problem. Because almost everyone can do it, it gets filed under "not really exercise", somewhere between tidying the kitchen and standing in a queue. We think that is a shame, and so, in its own official way, does the World Health Organization.

What the official guidance says

The WHO's definition of physical activity is broad on purpose. Its fact sheet describes physical activity as movement of any kind, whether in leisure time, as transport to get to and from places, or as part of work and housework, and it states plainly that all of it counts. Walking is named among the popular ways to be active, alongside cycling, sport and play.

On intensity, the WHO gives brisk walking as an example of moderate-intensity activity, noting that what counts as moderate depends on a person's own fitness. Its recommendation for adults is at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity across a week. That is a guideline, not a test you pass or fail, and you can build it out of walks as short or as long as your life allows.

In our own words: an ordinary amble to the shops is movement, and a walk where you are going at a purposeful clip, breathing a bit harder, the sort of pace where you could chat but would not want to sing, is the moderate kind the guidance has in mind.

Walking as transport

The easiest walking is walking that does something useful. Getting off the tram a stop early. Walking to the station instead of driving. Doing the morning coffee run on foot. These are not workouts and do not need to be; they are just a city seen at the right speed. In an old Italian town centre, walking is often simply the easiest way to get anywhere, and that is a habit worth copying at home.

Walking as pleasure

A long walk with no purpose beyond itself is one of the great free luxuries. Along the sea front at dusk. Out of town to a village with a good trattoria, and a train back. Through a museum district on a Sunday. Pick routes that end somewhere: a view, a bench, an ice cream. Walking with a friend is also the best format for a long conversation that has ever been invented, because nobody has to make eye contact during the difficult bits.

Walking as thinking

Walking is a reliable place to think. A problem that felt stuck at a desk often loosens after half an hour on foot, not because of anything mystical, but because you have finally stopped staring at it. Some people walk with a notebook; some people walk with a question and come home with three new ones. Both are good outings.

Making a walk more of a walk

If you want walking to feel more like exercise, change one thing at a time:

• Pace. Walk as if you were slightly late for a train you would really like to catch.
• Terrain. Add a hill, a staircase, a trail, a beach.
• Length. Make one walk a week a long one, with lunch in the middle.
• Company. A walking friend makes a long walk feel short.