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Dr Rangan ChatterjeeDr Rangan Chatterjee

Why Walking Is The Superpower You Didn’t Know You Had with Professor Shane O’Mara | FBLM Podcast

When was the last time you gave any real thought to walking? It’s so easy to put one foot in front of the other.

Dr. Rangan ChatterjeehostShane O’Maraguest
Nov 20, 20191h 20mWatch on YouTube

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At a glance

WHAT IT’S REALLY ABOUT

Neuroscientist Shane O'Mara Explains Why Walking Transforms Brain, Body and Cities

  1. Shane O'Mara argues that walking is an overlooked human superpower that evolution built us for, but modern car-centered environments and sedentary defaults work against it.
  2. He describes research showing walking enlarges the hippocampus, improves memory and attention in older adults, boosts creative idea generation, and lowers the risk of depression.
  3. The conversation covers how total daily movement matters more than a single gym session, with hunter-gatherer data suggesting diet and distributed activity explain health differences more than calorie burn.
  4. O'Mara proposes the 'EASE' charter for cities (easy, accessible, safe, enjoyable) and argues pedestrianized streets are social and economic assets.
  5. He closes with practical tips such as keeping comfortable shoes handy, getting up every 25 minutes, parking farther away, and tracking steps with a phone.

IDEAS WORTH REMEMBERING

5 ideas

Walking is central to what makes us human

O'Mara says efficient bipedal walking let humans forage widely, carry weapons, prey and infants, and migrate out of Africa, occupying an ecological niche no other species holds.

The environment, not individual willpower, is the main barrier

He argues defaults like escalators, lifts and car-oriented streets make inactivity easy, so design should make walking the effortless option, and he proposes the ease mnemonic for planners.

Walking can reverse functional brain ageing

In a study he cites from Art Kramer's group, people in their early 70s who walked three times a week for about a year showed larger hippocampal volume, higher BDNF and memory performance like people four years younger.

Walking boosts creativity and mood

People generate roughly twice as many ideas after walking for 5 to 10 minutes, and older walkers outperform sedentary 20-year-olds; people also consistently underestimate how much better a 20-minute walk will make them feel.

Walking appears protective against depression, though treatment evidence is lacking

An Australian study of about 35,000 adults found depression risk fell with each higher level of walking, but O'Mara says he knows of no good studies showing walking treats existing depression.

WORDS WORTH SAVING

5 quotes

you only get old when you stop walking. You don't stop walking because you're old.

— Shane O’Mara

Walking is this astonishing capacity that all humans have. Uh, it's kind of like the superpower that we have that we've overlooked.

— Shane O’Mara

we should stop thinking of, of streets as thoroughfares. Uh, we should be thinking of our streets as destinations

— Shane O’Mara

I would say you'll feel better, you'll look better, you'll think better. All of those things will happen.

— Shane O’Mara

I, I think walking will happen naturally and easily if we facilitate it, and it doesn't when we don't.

— Shane O’Mara

Read the available transcript
Evolution of human walkingWalkability and city designWalking and the hippocampusWalking and creativityWalking, depression and inflammationHunter-gatherer energy expenditure and dietSocial walking and practical tips

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SPEAKERS

  • Dr. Rangan Chatterjee

    host

    Medical doctor and host of the "Feel Better, Live More" podcast focused on lifestyle medicine and health.

  • Shane O’Mara

    guest

    Professor and neuroscientist known for research and writing on the brain and the benefits of walking.

High quality AI-generated summary created from speaker-labeled transcript.

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