Tuesday Brief

Yesterday in my blog, I wrote about the availability of different vaccines in India, and also wrote about Indian govt is keen to launch Russian vaccine Sputnik in the country. Now the Indian govt has given clearance for the launch of Sputnik V in the country. Russia has tied up with Indian manufacturers to produce 852 million doses of Sputnik V in India during one year Out of this 50% ie 426 million doses will be available for use in India. It is expected that within 10 to 12 weeks production will start in India. The companies finalised are Gland Pharma (252 million doses), Virchow Biotech (200 million doses), Panacea Biotech (100 million doses) Hetero Biopharma (100 million doses) and Stelis Biopharma (200 million doses). Initially 100 million doses will be directly imported and distributed by Indian company . So with serum Institute and Bharat Biotech also expanding their capacity very shortly, it looks like the uncertainity of the availability of vaccine will be eased put.

Now coming to my other topic of the day:

Few days back I wrote about the care which one has to take while walking in the summer. Today I am writing about the general benefits of walking,especially for senior citizens. How Fast One Should Walk for Effective Exercise.

For decades, walking has been accepted, as ahighly beneficial form of exercise. Most of the doctors advise their patients to get daily dose of exercise through walking. The few known benefits of walking are-

• Helps maintain body weight (helps reduce if over weight)
• Helps with hear health as it reduces bad cholestrol, and helps increase good cholestrol.
• Relief from stress and anxiety.
• Improved sleep, mood and stamina.
• Keep your mental faculties alert.
• Can help keep many aging related issues at bay.

There are many more benefits of walking and it is said that a person is expected to walk 10,000 steps in a day for reaping all these benefits. Nowadays in the market there are many devices available, which when attached to your body counts the number of steps in a particular time.

Waling is good, but how much walking should a senior do? Ewhat is a good regime to maintain?Walking which is counted as moderate serobnic activity, and as per standards practised abroad, seniors age 60 or above should get at least 150 minutes of such activity every week. Unless you have asked by yuour doctor not to walk for any specific ailment. This is one activity which anyone can start at any age without any harmful effects. Spread out your weekly time uniformly across the week, now if you are walking 6 days in a week then daily you must walk for 25 minutes, for better control amd monitoring rather than do it once a week to finish thw quota.

It is important to wear comfotable clothes and shoes suitable for walking. You can walk either in the morning or evening, depending on your convenience. Now how fast should one walk- typically one is expected to start walking slowly and then build up apace and maintain the pace. A brisk walk is what is expected, to provide all the suggested benefits. In a brisk walk, one should ensure that the whole body is included, which means you shouls also try to swing your hands back and forth naturally as you walk.

The pace should be normally slightly faster than a stroll, but slower than a jog. The best way to determine if your speed is right is if you can still talk normally without sounding breathless. Now in smart phones many apps are available to check out  are Simply Walking, Padometer, Map my walk etc.

The other things to take into account- There are ways to motivate yourself into walking every day. You could use it as an excuse to socialise. Most areas now have walking tracks in the parks or even withing the housing complexes. You may find like minded or same aged people to join you by forming a group. So, the walking can become your socialising as well. You could choose to set targets and celebrate when you, or any one in your group meet the same. The targets could be in terms of distances, the number of steps or time taken to cover a  particular distance. But one thing you should always keep in mind is, that you should never over exert yourself at any time. You should never feel breathlessness, as this is the first sign of over exertion.

In the end, Happy Walking.

Waiting for your views and comments.

Anil Malik

Mumbai, India

13^th April 2021.

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