One of my exercise programs recommends I use a heart rate monitor. Naturally I want to boost my heart health but am not sure where to start in terms of which heart monitor to use. A friend suggested I try a 'ring' or 'finger' monitor, but it didn't fit correctly. I'm also looking for a reliable pedometer. Any suggestions?

TUESDAY, July 29 (HealthDay News) -- Older, more feet-friendly neighborhoods can help keep waistlines trim, U.S. researchers report.

"We were excited to find that two easily available census measures of diverse destinations -- living in an older neighborhood and higher proportion of residents who walk to work -- both predict lower weight," said lead researcher Barbara Brown, a professor of family and consumer studies at the University of Utah.

The September issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine says the average man weighed 10 pounds less if he lived in older, more walkable neighborhoods while women weighed about six pounds less.

Modern neighborhoods, on the other hand, generally consist of large areas with nothing but housing, an arrangement that hinders walking and forces people to drive more to get around.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25890997/

How much walking do you do in your neighborhood? Is it newer? Older? Does what researchers say mirror your experiences?

There, I admit it: running is running my life. I run to live, and I sometimes feel as though I live to run. I'll never be a seeded or elite runner, but, that's not why I run. I run to keep my joints healthy, try to keep my weight under control, deal with high cholesterol and heart health. I wasn't always a runner; I started late in life, but I love my endorphins! I'm passionate about this sport; I can't stop talking about it; I have my own running team!

I will never forget the evening my husband and I were out to dinner and next to us was a couple we both decided were on their first date. Both of them would easily fit in the obese category. They started talking about working out and one said to the other that there really was no point because to get any benefits you had to work way too hard. Of course, my husband had to hold me down as I wanted to crawl over our table and set the story straight.

We all know walking is great exercise. It helps the heart and lungs, it builds strong muscle and it's good for our bones!

It's also a good social activity. We can walk with friends, catch up with our lives and if you are like me, walking can lead in just the opposite direction. It can be a time to be alone, with no-one talking, no little fingers tugging at me and no-one asking me what's for dinner! I can smell the air, listen to the geese and feel the breeze. Just me and me.

I can also feel my waist line getter smaller and my legs becoming leaner. And who doesn't want that benefit?

I am not a gym person, an exerciser or anything close. I hate to exercise. Big word - hate. But I hate it, hate it, hate it. Nay - I despise it!

The main problem with all this exercise malarkey is that it works. And works really well. Exercising lowers stress, lowers weight and strengthens the body. It's really, really good for us. Kind of distressing news for an exercise-hater like me.

By Serena Gordon
EmpowHer's HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, March 18 (HealthDay News) -- Forget about regular, scheduled exercise for a minute. If you just drop your average daily activity level -- by taking elevators instead of stairs, by parking your car in the closest space, or by never walking to do errands -- you increase your risk of diabetes, heart disease and premature death, according to new Danish research.

By Kathleen Doheny
EmpowHer's HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, March 6 (HealthDay News) -- The thousands of Americans who undergo knee replacement surgeries each year may want to put away their tennis rackets and get back on their bikes, a new study shows.

NEW YORK - Being merely moderately fit — walking briskly half an hour a day — can lower the risk of having a stroke, according to a new study whose findings apply to women as well as men.

Much of the previous research on stroke and fitness has been on men and relied on participants to report their physical activity, said Steven Hooker, who heads the University of South Carolina’s Prevention Research Center in Columbia and led the study. About a quarter of those in the new study were women, and everyone had a treadmill test to measure his or her fitness level.