A recent study from Harvard suggests that lack of exercise can be as hazardous to your health as smoking, and that a sedentary lifestyle is the cause of one in 10 deaths worldwide.

Integrative medicine expert Dr. Andrew Weil (www.weilbeing.com) believes that walking is the perfect exercise. It is convenient, costs nothing, can be done almost anywhere, carries very little risk of injury, and is what humans were designed to do. Walking is also great for conditioning the hip and leg muscles and improving your cardiovascular system.

As an understudy to running, there are many ways that you can make walking work harder for you. Dr. Weil’s head-to-toe checklist to help power up your walking routine for weight loss and fitness includes:

Head: While walking, try to look straight ahead with your chin parallel to the ground, rather than looking down. Keeping your head up encourages improved air flow so that you can maintain an aerobic pace.

Shoulders: You can work on your posture as you walk by focusing on keeping your shoulders down and back, away from your ears. Proper alignment from head to toe allows for faster, quicker movement and increased calorie burn.

Arms: Pump your arms as you move, keeping them bent at a 90-degree angle, especially when going uphill. The more muscles that you work, the greater the calories burned.

Heart: To reap heart healthy benefits, aerobic (cardiovascular) exercise like walking cannot be casual or intermittent. A moderate level of intensity will leave you feeling somewhat out of breath, yet still able to carry on a conversation. As you build strength and endurance you can increase your speed or look for a more challenging route, such as walking up hills. Dr. Weil states that if a period of aerobic exercise does not leave you feeling that you have labored, with your heart beating faster and your breathing stimulated, you have not performed it vigorously enough.

Core: Keep your abs engaged and your spine long, stretching your core up and out of your hips. Walking at quicker paces with abs engaged can actually simulate an abdominal workout.

Hips: Keep your hips and glutes tucked under, and be careful not to stick them out backwards. When going uphill, it is fine to lean forward slightly, but keep your weight over your feet. When going downhill also be sure to keep your weight over your feet.

Legs: To increase speed and facilitate greater weight loss, take short, quick steps instead of very long, large strides. Where possible, walk uphill to increase fat and calorie burn and leg strength.

Feet: Walking shoes should have a snug fit, deep heel cup, sufficient arch support and proper cushioning for shock absorption. Improper footwear can sideline walkers at any level with plantar fasciitis and other problems.

Harvard researchers estimated that if only 10 percent of those who are currently inactive started to exercise, 533,000 lives would be saved; if 25 percent began moving, 1.3 million premature deaths could be averted. The amount of exercise needed is modest - 30 minutes of brisk walking or cycling five days a week.

Walking may not burn as many calories as running the same distances, but it offers the great advantage of availability to all ages and lifestyles, as it requires no skill or practice. Everyone knows how to do it, and the only equipment you need is a good pair of shoes. You can walk outdoors or indoors, and is the safest exercise option of all.