With potential to improve cardiovascular and pulmonary fitness, and reduce risk of heart disease and stroke, walking has an abundance of health benefits – even more so when it comes with a physician-led conversation about wellness.
That is the philosophy behind “Walk With a Doc,” a program that spans thousands of chapters across the United States, including one in Galveston helmed by UTMB faculty and students.
“It’s recommended that adults get 150 minutes a week of moderate intensity aerobic exercise,” says UTMB Family Medicine physician Samuel Mathis, MD. “This is really meant to be a starter, to get people engaged and show them how easy this activity can be.”
On the second and fourth Saturday of every month, Walk With a Doc Galveston welcomes community members of all ages and all fitness levels. Dr. Mathis, who leads the chapter, became involved more than a year ago, when UTMB medical student Brian Quinlan expressed interest in reviving the program at UTMB after a hiatus.
Quinlan, a member of the UTMB Running Club and now a third-year medical student, was troubled by the high prevalence of diabetes and heart disease among the patients he saw while volunteering at St. Vincent’s Clinic. Rather than focus solely on medicating these conditions, he started to think about prevention.
“I wanted to see what we could do to help keep people out of the clinic in the first place. I started looking into ways we could help people to be proactive about their health. Walking was a great way to do that, without people feeling like they would have barriers to get started,” he says.
The group meets at the UTMB Alumni Field House track at 10 a.m., opening with a brief talk on a health-related topic led by Dr. Mathis or another faculty member. Dr. Mathis says the talks are based on questions that group members or his patients have asked, or topics he has been researching. If another faculty member leads the talk, it will center on a topic from their specialty.
After the talk, the group walks for about 20 minutes around the track. It is only a small portion of the recommended 150 minutes a week, but for those just starting to incorporate exercise into their lives, it represents an important step toward becoming more active.
“The benefits of having a community compound the likelihood of someone sticking with a walking program,” Quinlan says. “They can be there with their friends; they can have accountability.”
While the program is beneficial for all participants striving to enjoy healthier lives, it also provides a unique opportunity for the medical students who participate. By walking alongside community members and having conversations about health, Dr. Mathis says they become more adept at communicating the kinds of information they will someday be responsible for sharing with their patients.
Besides his own passion for wellness, the enthusiasm of the students was one of the reasons Dr. Mathis says he felt compelled to be involved with the program.
“I was excited that students have gotten involved with this and are really engaged. I wanted to support them, while also making sure we are encouraging healthy lifestyle habits among students, staff, faculty, and the community at large,” he says.
Since helping restart the program, Quinlan has passed some of the leadership responsibilities on to younger students. He says a group of medical students is present at every walk and hopes that even more students will become involved. Students have even taken the reins for several walks, branded “Walk with a Future Doc.”
“I think a lot of medical students get into this profession because they want to help people, and they realize there are more ways to do that than just seeing them in the clinical setting,” Quinlan says.
Quinlan says the Walk With a Doc Galveston Facebook page is a good source of information for anyone, including students, looking to get involved. Community members can also visit the Walk with a Doc Galveston Chapter web page to learn more.
The next Walk with a Doc Galveston event is scheduled for this Saturday, April 13.