Women's walking shoes have to be one of the best pairs of shoes to own.

This has nothing to do with the colour, how they look or even how they fit; this has to do with you, your health and more importantly your life span.

An 8 year study of 13,000 people showed that those who walked for 30 minutes every day had a lower risk of premature death than those who rarely exercised.

The fad of two legged walking began around 4 million years BC. Womens walking shoes were probably not as readily available then as they are now!

1860-1903 saw The Pedestrian Age when walking became the leading sport across Europe and the United States.

In 1877 Mary Marshall walked 50 miles in 12 hours and in 1908 the first womens 6 day race, covering 372 miles was won by Bertha Von Berg.

You and I will probably be more familiar with craze of the nineties when a staggering 65 million people made walking the most popular form of exercise.

Walking regularly means you will be less likely to lose your mobility [American Journal of Public Health]

It gets even better.

Across the many forms of exercise today, physicians recommend walking over any other physical fitness activity.

If you dont already have any kind of walking program, heres a few amazing facts to convince you why taking up walking is the best decision you could make today:-

• Maintains a healthy bodyweight
• Burns fat and speeds up the metabolism
• Increases levels of self esteem and self confidence
• Maintains lean muscle
• Reduces blood cholesterol
• Boosts bone strength and prevents osteoporosis
• Controls high blood pressure
• Reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease and certain types of cancer
• Reduces the symptoms of depression and anxiety
• Reduces stress
• Reduces pain and joint swelling caused by arthritis
• Achieves cardiovascular fitness
• Presents an overall feeling of wellbeing and good health

Of course your health is the most important part of your life but walking is completely free, no gym membership required!

One of the most important bits of kit you will need, other than yourself of course is walking shoes. Aim to look for the following:-

• Great fit!
• low heel
• flexible sole
• breathable, lightweight fabric

If you walk regularly you should aim to have a new pair of womens walking shoes every 3-6 months, depending on the distance you usually walk.

By implementing a regular walking program of just 30 minutes a day you are essentially reducing the possibilities of all the points listed above.

You dont even have to do one 30 minute walk; you could walk for 10 minutes at lunch time and maybe 20 minutes after dinner.

Try not to walk yourself into a frenzy.

Swing your arms as you walk and at a pace that will increase your heart rate slightly.

If you are losing weight you should aim to lose no more than about 1-2 lbs a week.

If you walk a mile, depending on you as an individual, your speed and the terrain you are walking on you can look to burn around 100 calories every mile.

For more information and how to start a walking program visit the Womens Shoes Guru http://www.womens-shoes-guru.com/womens-walking-shoes.html