-by Sheela Rani Chunkath
My sister used to consult a traditional ayurvedic vaidyar near Cochin. His mantra for good health was walking. My sister who consulted him for her wheezing complaint was, in addition to the regular treatment, asked to walk about 6 kilometres every day. She swears that when she was regularly walking regularly she was free from any wheezing. But as usually happens, one tends to slacken off and over time walking ceases to be a daily routine.
One of the things I picked up from the US was a pedometer. These days pedometers are available in India, especially online. My husband and I clip on our pedometer religiously in the morning. The pedometer when clipped on to one's waist registers the number of strides and keeps recording them. Now doing chores is good fun because we keep trying to get down more steps recorded on the pedometer. The pedometer can be clipped at the waist when wearing a sari. If you clip it on the right side no one will even realise that you are wearing a pedometer. With a salwar kameez or churidar there is no hassle, it can be easily clipped on and it will not be visible. You can wear it even when you go for parties or other formal occasions. When buying a pedometer buy one which has a safety clip so that the pedometer does not fall off from the waist. Some pedometers can be carried in a handbag or in the pocket but I have found it convenient to simply clip it to the waist.
The idea is to take 10,000 steps every day. The number of kilometres you end up doing depends on the length of your stride. The pedometer allows you to enter the length of your stride and your weight. If you take 10,000 steps you are considered an active person. My stride is smaller than that of my husband's. If I do 10,000 steps I end up walking around 6 kilometres while for my husband, 10,000 steps is around 8 kilometres.
Recently we had gone shopping with a friend in the mall. She was busy searching for some garments. Normally, I would have found a quiet spot with a seat. But with the pedometer clipped on my waist, I took the opportunity to go round the store till my friend had finished her shopping. It was satisfying to check to the pedometer and see it register more and more steps.
The nice thing with a pedometer is that it registers all the walking you do around the house too. Doing household chores or moving up and down the stairs all help you achieve your walking target. Hopefully you will sit less in front of the computer or TV. I am not addicted to either, but I do love to curl up with a book. Walking was something you did purposefully early in the morning. The pedometer helps you to keep walking throughout the day. Many pedometer users say that they walk in their bedrooms, in their offices, in shopping malls or just about wherever they can take a few additional steps. My pedometer even registers when I walk aerobically i.e. when I walk continuously for 10 min and register a certain number of steps per minute. This is a strong incentive to walk briskly and after a while you find yourself walking briskly and continuously. The pedometer shows the number of kilometres walked, the amount of fat lost and the kilocalories expended etc. The last two figures are not very meaningful because you don't really lose significant amounts of fat or expend all that many kilocalories in a day. However, the fact that you are using the whole day to keep walking and moving and this keeps your basal metabolic rate high.
Please persuade some family members or friends to get pedometers and start comparing the number of steps walked each day. I am sure you will once again rediscover the fun in walking.
--- The writer was earlier Health Secretary, Government of Tamil Nadu and is currently Additional Chief Secretary and Chairman & Managing Director, Tamil Nadu Handicrafts Development Corporation. She can be reached at Sheelarani.arogyamantra@gmail. com. Earlier articles can be accessed at http://arogyamantra.blogspot.com/