Walktober

We are so excited to invite you to participate and donate in October this year, not to mention getting out to MOVE WELL throughout the month. We hope you keep on moving and sit less as a flow on effect on this initiative.

If you would like to stay updated with all Bluearth activities , please subscribe to our Movement Matters newsletter.

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What is Walktober?

Walktober is an annual health awareness and fundraising event that challenges people to move for 31 minutes of every day for 31 days in October. At the same time, we raise funds to enable Bluearth and its programs to have a presence in more schools across Australia.

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Why we need to move more

Physical inactivity is a leading cause of disease and disability.

An office worker will typically spend 80,000 hours of their life sitting. Over time, sitting for more than 6 hours a day reduces life expectancy by 40% for women and 20% for men.

Sedentary lifestyles increase all causes of mortality, double the risk of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and obesity, and increase the risks of colon cancer, high blood pressure, osteoporosis, lipid disorders, depression and anxiety.

Two thirds of Australians are overweight or obese; Australia has the highest rate of obesity in the world.^*

Moving more is good for us; improving sleep and lung capacity, increasing blood flow to the brain for improved mental alertness and productivity, reducing cholesterol and blood pressure and improving heart muscle function and blood flow.

Helping kids to learn the joy of movement in their early years, is a key piece of their development that can influence their health and wellbeing through to later years.

^{* Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2019}