A new report released by The Ramblers and Macmillan Cancer Support shows that walking was an activity that can transform people’s health, so all you need is a minimum amount of outdoors gear to put you on the right footing to being more active and improving your health outlook.

The report shows that tens of thousands of lives could be saved each year in the UK if people would just get up and out a little more. Being more active is shown to actively decrease the odds of getting heart disease and reduces your chances of suffering a stroke. However, it also makes a difference in other conditions including Alzheimer’s’, type 2 diabetes and some forms of cancer.

A recent study that appeared in the British Medical Journal showed that for certain ailments, including heart disease, that exercise such as walking was as good for you as taking prescribed medication. This was backed up by another piece of research that concluded that walking for at least sixty minutes every day cut the risk of breast cancer.

We only need to do the recommended amount of moderate physical exercise to help our health. This is currently set at 150 minutes and is defined as being “enough to make the heart beat faster while still being able to readily have a conversation” and it includes actives such as walking, cycling and even gardening. So we don’t all have to become fitness fanatics to improve our lifestyle. Here’s a couple of statistics the report came up with if everyone in England achieved the minimum. Just over 37,000 lives would be saved each year and it would prevent 6,700 cases of breast cancer, as well as leading to almost 300,000 fewer cases of type 2 diabetes. Not too shabby for doing a bit of extra walking each week.

So check out the latest deals for outdoors gear on the website, whether it’s a pair of boots or a one of the new winter coats and improve your own health with a regular walk. You know it makes sense.