Walking reduces health hazards

Pem Yolmo
There was a time when I used to walk everyday with loaded bag of books to school. Those wonderful days of walking, chatting and enjoying with friends, the early morning hustle and bustle of Gangtok bazaar, and sometimes steering our way through the madness of Lal bazaar using our umbrellas.
I have enjoyed every second of my school days and that has kept me healthy even today. Looking back I realize that it is walking that has kept me fit and free of any serious illness. It has been a great medicine for me, and it is a very good medicine for all human beings. Gangtok has transformed greatly over the past few years, M.G marg has never been the same although the statue of Mahatma Gandhi still occupies the same old place and attracts a lot of tourists, but more than that what I see is the increasing number of taxis day-by-day which I have not seen at any other hill station.  There are more vehicles then people in Sikkim, and those days of walking are long gone as the number of pedestrians has gone down as compared to a couple of years ago.
It is a great pain to see that the people of Sikkim are hardly seen walking rather they would prefer a taxi or private vehicle to reach home/office. It is my observation that walking is necessary in our everyday life because I have learned that walking can be very beneficial if you can walk for a minimum period of thirty to sixty minutes every day, five days a week, with the correct walking posture. It reduces health risks and has various overall health benefits, such as reducing the chances of cancer, diabetes, heart disease, anxiety and depression. Life expectancy is also increased even for individuals suffering from obesity or high blood pressure. Walking also increases bone health, especially strengthening the hip bone, and lowering the more harmful low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and raises the more useful good high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol.
So, the next time you are thinking about taking a taxi or private vehicle to work or home. Think about all the benefits of walking. The choice is yours.