Doctors: Walking is the best exercise

There's a growing agreement among exercise researchers that the vigorous activities of most health clubs are not the best path to overall health.

Walking is better. At a vigorous pace of 3 to 4 mph, walking for half an hour five or six times a week could be the perfect exercise. It is one of the safest activities, and it's easy on your body.

Doctors at Harvard's Brigham and Women's Hospital say that if everyone were to walk briskly for 30 minutes a day, we could cut the incidence of many chronic diseases by 30 or 40 percent. What's more, new studies suggest that walking briskly in 10-minute intervals provides just about the same benefits as walking for 30 minutes does.

It's almost a magic bullet. Walking helps to prevent heart disease, stroke, diabetes, osteoporosis, arthritis, and depression, among its better known benefits.