Walking 30 minutes a day, five days a week is the first step toward better health. This simple, take-charge message comes from health advocate Kaiser Permanente who today announced Every Body Walk! a public awareness project aimed at starting a national conversation about the health benefits of walking.

Presently, more than 70 percent of all adult Americans lead sedentary lifestyles. This is significantly impacting the overall health of our country, which spends more than $2.5 trillion annually on medical care. An estimated 80 percent of that figure is spent on treating chronic conditions that can be prevented or treated by regular walking.

“The aim of the Every Body Walk! campaign is to inform Americans about the tremendous health benefits of walking,” said Bob Sallis, MD, family physician at Kaiser Permanente’s, Southern California Permanente Medical Group. “Walking is an excellent form of exercise for everyone and for those with conditions like diabetes, asthma, heart disease and depression, a regular walking regimen has the added benefit of helping to manage these diseases. I’m a strong believer in the power of walking and that’s why I literally prescribe it to my patients as front line medicine — often in place of medications.”

Every Body Walk! is an online educational campaign aimed at getting Americans up and moving. A walking hub, www.everybodywalk.org, contains news and resources on walking, health information, walking maps, how to find walking groups, a personal pledge form to start walking, as well as a place to share stories about individual experiences with walking.

The centerpiece of the website is a series of short video vignettes featuring average Americans sharing motivational stories about how walking has changed their lives and lifestyles. The videos on www.everybodywalk.org are intended to be shared with family, friends, neighbors, colleagues and anybody else interested in improving their health and feeling better. New videos will be added to the site each week and the project will culminate with a 30-minute documentary on the health benefits of walking, which will also be accessible online.