Walking is absolutely a great exercise! There are ways to make it more challenging and that includes listening to music and walking with the beat, but also some apps can pulse a metronome for you if you don't like music. Just saying, it's possible to make it great exercise. I also wear a pedometer so every step counts even if I'm walking from the kitchen to the bedroom. I cherish all the movements my body is priviliged enough to make. I hate the thought that exercise only lasts 30-60minutes because all day everyday I have the opportunity to be active. I do squats while unloading the dishwasher. I stretch while watching tv. I walk to the supermarket. I park in the furthest parking spot at the mall. I get off one subway stop early and walk the rest of the way. I take the stairs instead of the elevator. Just saying, one does not have to go to the gym for 30-60min in order to exercise.

In fact I see lots of gym goers that are sedentary all day long and think that they are fit lol.

@Wannabeskinny: oh, don't get me wrong! I am not saying it's not exercise - it completely is but for some reason I can never bring myself to count it towards my exercise since I go walking normally. I have this weird mental idea that exercise is something I set aside specific time for - anything else is just life! c

I think a lot of people do. Setting aside a specific time for exercise is nice and all, nothing to scoff at. But "life" happens the rest of the time and I see it as a huge opportunity every moment. In fact I can point out days and days that I've achieved over 5miles of walking in a day, climbed 20 stairs cases and yet never made it to my specific workout time. Some people build treadmill desks and put their computers on it.

How many people do you know who say they don't have time to exercise? I know lots. I'm one of them, sometimes with a toddler there's no time to even shower! But the opportunity to be active is present all day long and since I've switched gears and started seeing it from that perspective I have been a lot more active and happy.

Yes but i didn't say this.

"Everyone who runs will need knee surgery? "

Most long term very overweight people will need knee surgery (or hip or back or several) even if they don't run. If you run when overweight as well, you are just increasing the likelihood of having surgery sooner. Our skeletons are not built to stand up to all the pressure of being obese for.

If you do not spend many years of your life being overweight, you may well be able to avoid knee surgery, whether or not you run.