Utah pedestrians share benefits of walking as exercise

Walking enthusiasts in Salt Lake City shared thoughts on the benefits of walking after Vanderbilt and the University of Wisconsin-Madison presented evidence that walking can lower mortality rates.

Researchers from Vanderbilt University's Medical Center and the University of Wisconsin-Madison found that "regular walking...particularly fast walking...was associated with reduced mortality," a 2025 research paper in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine said.

Their evidence suggested that even a daily, 15-minute power walk can lower one's risk of death by 20%.

In Salt Lake City, the International Peace Gardens is a popular spot for a stroll. Mandy Skonhovd, who lives nearby, routinely walks there, she said.

"I feel like I have the energy of ten thousand suns," Skonhovd said. "I do work from home twice a week or more, sometimes, so I just need to get out of the house or I will explode. So I do try to take a walk for my goal, at least, is an hour a day."

Derek Kuraitis, who accompanied Skonhovd on her walk at the park, said he prefers to walk in the morning.

"7:30, when the sun's rising; you know, I look up at the sky, and it's (a) much more pleasant start of my day," he said.

Kuratis believes that combining walking with public transportation has benefits as well.

"A nice accompaniment to walking is taking transit instead of driving, cause you are only sitting in your car and getting maybe frustrated at traffic around you," Kuraitis said. "It's much more pleasant to walk around."

The Vanderbilt-Wisconsin study focused especially on walking as exercise for people from diverse racial backgrounds and low-socioeconomic situations. Its broad accessibility is another reason Skonhovd and Kuraitis are such fans.

"You can do running and biking, but everyone can do walking," Kuraitis said.

"You should go on a walk cause one: it's free," Skonhovd said. "You don't need a gym membership to go on a walk. Like, you can just go."

To get started, Skonhovd recommends that people simply get out into their neighborhoods.

"I think you can find beauty in anywhere. If I'm not walking here, sometimes I'll just go into the neighborhood and just explore," Skonhovd said. "I think that's so interesting and fun just to explore your community, cause how often are you really doing that?"