Walking Reduces Hypertension Increasing daily walking by just 1 or 2 miles a day may be as effective as traditional exercise programs in lowering high blood pressure in postmenopausal women, according to new study findings. Approximately 43 million adults in the United States have high blood pressure, or hypertension, and the condition is most common among men and postmenopausal women. "The women in our study lowered their blood pressure without losing weight, decreasing their body fat or changing their diet, demonstrating that exercise alone--in this case, walking--was effective in lowering their blood pressure," lead author of the study, which took place in the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, said. Women in this study were assigned to a 24-week exercise program designed to increase their daily walking by 3 kilometers. As a result of walking, their systolic blood pressure (the first number in a blood pressure reading) was brought down by about 11 points. The researchers' report has appeared in the November issue of Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. (end) Khorsheed.com - Dec 2001