The Walking Works website has launched a festive Mince Pie Calculator alongside their ‘Pledge to Walk 15 Minutes More’ campaign, to show punters with a seasonal fluctuation in belt sizes just how many mince pies they can afford to eat this year based on how far they walk in the average working day.
Distressingly (or perhaps not considering my ambivalence towards the pastried fiends, which is beaten only by my disgust for Christmas pudding), the calculator has declared that I’m fit to eat 0.2 mince pies this Christmas, as my working day only burns a measly 56 calories.
This is probably based on the fact that I live within a nine minute stroll from the office and enjoy a mostly desk based existence. If I take these figures as gospel then, I’ll have to scrimp pretty heartily on my snacking to avoid the dreaded Christmas belly. Or not as the case may be, as there’s no room on the calculator to factor in my bi-weekly stitch filled ‘runs’ around Ravenscourt Park caused by the death of my ‘he’s a growing lad’ metabolism.
But still, nitpicking with the method aside, the message here doesn’t just extend to the festive season, as walking to work not only has health, financial and personal space benefits (a nod to the sweaty chubsters who unerringly home in on me on any summer’s day tube ride), but also helps save on petrol and carbon emissions caused by every journey in the car or on public transport.
With Copenhagen putting environmental issues at the forefront of the news, there’s never been a more appropriate time to do your part. Nor has there ever been an easier activity than walking. So whether it’s getting off the tube one stop earlier or grabbing lunch just a little further up the street, why not feel the many benefits of a few extra springs in your step?
Will Saunders
