The 6-6-6 Walking Challenge: Revolutionary Weight Loss Secret or Just Another Fitness Fad? Experts Reveal the Truth!
However, physical activity, like walking, helps your body become more responsive to insulin, meaning it can absorb blood sugar and use it for energy versus letting it accumulate. A 2024 meta-analysis in the British Journal of Sports Medicine analyzed multiple studies about walking speed and the risk of type 2 diabetes. It found that walking faster than four miles per hour can reduce your risk of type 2 diabetes by almost 40 percent over an average follow-up period of three to 11.1 years.
5. It can enhance brain function and mental health.
A small 2022 study in the Journal of Personalized Medicine looked at a group of healthy young adults ages 20 to 25 and how exercise intensity affected blood flow to the brain. It found that low to moderate intensity walking, determined by cardiac force meters, improved blood flow to the brain, which can improve cognitive function.
Not to mention, this activity betters your mental health, too. A 2024 review in JAMA Network Open of studies on depression and walking found that taking 5,000 steps or more each day was associated with fewer depressive symptoms. And a 2022 review in Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being of literature on physical activity in natural versus urban environments found that walking in nature significantly reduced anxiety and depression compared to urban settings. Plus, walking in natural settings increased feelings of calmness and tranquility.
Whether you’re trying the 6-6-6 challenge or not, you can still reap the benefits of walking by doing it at any time of day for any duration—and if you are trying the challenge, don’t beat yourself up if there are days you can’t stick to these exact numbers. “Life and training have to co-exist,” Hamilton says. “Put the walk in where it works for you. If you make it work with your schedule, you’re much more likely to continue the habit long-term and reap the rewards of your time invested.”
Danielle Zickl is a freelance writer who has 10 years of experience covering fitness, health, and nutrition. She’s a graduate of Ithaca College. You can find her work here on Women’s Health, and in many other publications including PS, SELF, Well+Good, Runner’s World, Outside RUN, Peloton, Men’s Fitness, and more.
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