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'Japanese walking' could help you live longer

Japan is often reported as having the longest life expectancy. Japanese people live to be an average of above 84 years old. Many people say this is because of the country's healthy diet. Another reason could be how people walk. Japanese people walk a lot. This has started a new fitness trend on TikTok, called "Japanese Walking". It involves walking quickly for three minutes and then slowing down for three minutes. Walkers repeat this pattern five times. Health experts say Japanese walking is good for posture, blood circulation, lowering blood pressure, and reducing stress. It has also been linked to a lower risk of dementia. Doctors also say it can help people live longer.

Japanese people might not know about the term "Japanese Walking". To them, it is just walking. Researchers at Shinshu University in Matsumoto, Japan came up with the name in 2007. They conducted a study on high- and low-intensity walking. The recent worldwide popularity of the walking method is due to videos made by Eugene Teo, an Australian fitness coach and social media content creator. He wanted people to follow a simple exercise routine that had an easy-to-remember name. His videos have had 10 million views on TikTok and 17 million views on YouTube. He said he wanted "to make fitness advice and scientific jargon a lot more accessible".

Chat

Talk about these words from the article.

Japan / life expectancy / average / healthy diet / fitness trend / walking quickly / worldwide / popularity / videos / TikTok / fitness coach / exercise routine / jargon

True / False

1) Japan now has the world's longest life expectancy for men and women. T / F

2) Both men and women in Japan live to be 84 years old. T / F

3) Japanese walking means walking quickly for 10 minutes non-stop. T / F

4) Health experts say Japanese walking is good for blood pressure. T / F

5) Japanese people might not know the term "Japanese walking". T / F

6) The term "Japanese Walking" is over 200 years old. T / F

7) A "Japanese Walking" video has been viewed 10 million times on TikTok. T / F

8) A fitness coach wants exercise to be full of scientific jargon. T / F

Discussion

1) What do you think about what you read?

2) How is Japanese walking different to normal walking?

3) What do you do to keep in shape?

4) How good are the keep-fit videos on TikTok and YouTube?

5) What exercise do you think you'll be doing when you are 70?

6) What do you think of exercise?

7) What exercise are you going to do in the next week?

8) What questions would you like to ask health experts about walking?