Every Step Counts!

by Arcelita Imasa, MD

On August 29, community members gathered at Neal S. Blaisdell Park in ʻAiea for the third annual Hawaiʻi Walk for Health. This year’s theme, “Today’s Steps for Tomorrow’s Strength,” brought out walkers of all ages for a morning full of movement, connection, and good old-fashioned community care.

This wasn’t just a walk around a park. It was a reminder that health doesn’t only happen in gyms, clinics, and hospitals; instead, it grows in our neighborhoods, workplaces, families, parks, and the relationships that hold us together.

When people have safe places to move, people who support them, access to preventive care, and their basic needs met, living a healthier, fuller life stops being a far-off idea and starts feeling possible.

For Filipino families and many immigrant communities here in Hawaiʻi, walking is nothing new. familiar. For me, I grew up on a farm in the Philippines, where tricycles and jeepneys were hard to come by, and carabaos, not cars, carried our goods to market. Walking to school, walking across the barrio… that was just how the day went.

So when I walked at this event, it carried a different weight for me. It brought back the poverty and the lack of access I grew up with, and it reminded me why I keep trying to “walk further” with my patients and their families, toward abundance, toward getting their needs truly met.

I walked for a better future. I’m sure others found their own reason to walk that day too.

Why Walking Matters

Walking is one of those rare things you can do at almost any age, for little or no money, solo or with people you love. No gym membership, no fancy gear, no athletic background required. A decent pair of shoes, a safe route, some water, and the willingness to just start–these are usually enough.

It’s also one of the most flexible ways to move your body. A slow, easy walk is a great starting point if you’ve been inactive, while picking up the pace can get your heart pumping if you’re after more of a challenge.

Regular physical activity has both immediate and long-term benefits. Even one walk can help you sleep better, ease anxiety, and lower your blood pressure. Keep it up over time, and you’re cutting your risk of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, depression, falls, and even some cancers.

Here’s how walking helps, in plain terms:

– Brisk walking strengthens your heart and blood flow, lowering cardiovascular and stroke risk.

– Regular movement helps your body use sugar more efficiently and supports a healthy weight, both key for preventing or managing type 2 diabetes.

– Walking outdoors, especially with company, can relieve stress, lift your mood, and give you a breather from work, caregiving, or whatever else is weighing on you.

– As a weight-bearing activity, walking (paired with strength and balance work) helps protect bone health and lowers fall risk as we get older.

– Group walks fight isolation and turn exercise into fellowship. Chatting with a neighbor or friend along the way makes it easier to stick with.

Here’s the thing about walking: it’s not about being perfect. It’s about showing up consistently. You don’t need to become a runner or finish a marathon to see real benefits. It’s the small, steady steps over days and weeks that add up.

The FITT Prescription

I follow the FITT principle to help my patients build an exercise plan that is realistic, individualized, and safe. FITT stands for Frequency, Intensity, Time, and Type. I think it is a straightforward way to turn the general advice to “exercise more” into an actual routine.

Most adults should aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity a week. In practice, that’s roughly 30 minutes a day (Time), five days a week (Frequency), plus strength training two or more days a week. Brisk walking counts as moderate intensity (Intensity).

A good way to check your pace is the talk test: you should be able to talk in short sentences but not sing comfortably. Singing easily? Pick up the pace. Too breathless to talk? Slow down. Walking outside, at the mall, on a treadmill, or with a group all count (Type).

For someone starting from little activity, I prescribe walking for 10 minutes after dinner three times per week. After one or two weeks, increase to 15 minutes, then add another day. Small increases are safer and more sustainable than trying to do too much all at once.

For someone who already walks regularly, the next step might be to increase pace, add gentle hills, extend time, or include short intervals. For example, walk briskly for one minute, then walk at a comfortable pace for two minutes. The best walking plan is one that fits a person’s health status, schedule, environment, and goals.

If you’re dealing with chest pains, real shortness of breath, dizziness, a chronic condition that’s not well-controlled, or a new injury, please speak with your doctor before starting or ramping up any exercise routine.

Movement as Prevention

Walking isn’t a substitute for medical care, medication, or screenings when you need them. But it’s a genuinely powerful tool for prevention. It can complement treatment for high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, depression, arthritis, and plenty more.

But walking should not be framed as a matter of individual willpower alone. Not everyone has a safe sidewalk, time away from multiple jobs, reliable transportation to a park, or freedom from pain, disability, caregiving demands, and financial stress. Public health must address these realities.

That is why community events such as the Hawaiʻi Walk for Health are meaningful. They create a welcoming and accessible space for people of different ages and abilities to move together. This year’s event featured a mostly flat walking course and brought people together not only for exercise, but also for community booths, music (and dancing!), conversation, advocacy, and shared purpose.

The Walk was supported by organizations working at the intersections of health, youth empowerment, immigrant rights, workers’ rights, cultural connection, and social justice. Its message was clear: health equity requires more than advice to make better choices. It requires communities and systems that make healthy choices possible.

A Successful 2026 Walk

The 2026 Hawaiʻi Walk for Health succeeded because of the many people who made it possible: the walkers who showed up, volunteers who gave their time, donors and sponsors who contributed resources, partner organizations that shared the invitation, performers and tablers who brought energy, and organizers who worked behind the scenes.

Every participant helped demonstrate that collective care can be joyful and worthwhile. People came for different reasons: to improve their own health, support a friend or family member, honor a loved one, meet neighbors, advocate for justice, or simply enjoy a morning outdoors.

Together, we affirmed that our individual health is connected to the health of our communities.

So what’s next? Keep that momentum going. Invite a family member for an evening walk. Start a walking group at work. Take a short walk on your lunch break. Check in on an elderly neighbor who might welcome the company and the movement.

Today’s steps really can build tomorrow’s strength—not only in our hearts, muscles, and minds, but in the bonds we form with one another.

The 2026 Hawaiʻi Walk for Health showed what becomes possible when a community chooses to move together.

DR. ARCELITA IMASA is a practicing family physician and the secretary of the Hawaii Workers Center’s Executive Committee of the Board. She grew up in the Philippines before migrating to Hawaii with her family more than a decade ago.

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