Only about 20 percent of the U.S. population engages in some type of physical activity on a regular basis, according to the Sporting Goods Manufacturer Association International (SGMA). That leaves approximately 80 percent of the U.S. population living predominantly sedentary lifestyles!

These sedentary lifestyles have produced a high number of adults who are overweight or obese. To be more precise, around 65 percent of U.S. adults weigh too much, according to the "results from the 1999-2002 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey" conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics.

If you're one who is sporting some extra body fat, there IS a solution! BECOME MORE PHYSICALLY ACTIVE!

In order to lose fat and pounds, you must burn more calories than you consume! Now, if you've never exercised, you certainly do not want to try to go out and run a marathon! But, an exercise that just about anyone can engage in...one that is relatively safe and requires no special skills...is walking!

Walking is a great way to rid your body of fat tissue and to build muscle mass. It is a low-impact exercise, with minimal risk of injury. And, when done regularly, it improves cardiovascular health, as well as endurance.

David A. Rives, in Walk Yourself Thin, is a formerly overweight individual who walked his way to a leaner, fitter body. He discovered from his own personal experience that increasing one's level of activity to over-compensate for the number of calories consumed each day can lead to loss of excess fat.

How long and how far should you walk? Rives says that you should walk just as fast and as long as you comfortably can each day, if you're striving to replace fat with lean, muscle tissue. As you become fitter, you'll be able to walk faster, longer, and farther.

Treadmill Walking

Of course, where you walk is entirely up to you! However, there are many benefits to walking on a treadmill.

When you walk outdoors, you're at the mercy of Mother Nature. Let's face it! Sometimes, she doesn't cooperate, and the weather conditions can be less than ideal for walking outdoors. On those days, you either brave the weather, or you simply don't go out to walk!

If you get your daily walks done on a treadmill, however, you don't have to miss a workout! You may walk in a comfortable, controlled environment, any time of day or night! Now, how convenient is that?

When you walk on a treadmill, you have no obstacles to watch out for, to walk around, or to trip over. Thus, your chances of injury are reduced. And, treadmill walking is relatively simple to do!

Treadmills typically have display windows that show your speed, incline level, intensity level, as well as the length of time you've spent on the treadmill and the distance you've traveled. These displays allow you to monitor your workouts more closely.

Most decent treadmills today have pre-programmed workouts, with various workout levels from which to choose. This makes the treadmill perfect for beginning walkers up to advanced walkers.