It's true that we're obsessed with walking, and for good reasons.

You may think the benefits are limited to improving balance, leg strength, and respiration, along with dispelling stress and managing your blood sugar. But there’s plenty more.

Research shows that walking has far-reaching powers to counter even genetic predispositions to poor health.

When Harvard University researchers looked at a variety of obesity-promoting genes in more than 12,000 people, they found that those who walked briskly for an hour a day cut the effect of their pound-adding genes in half.

Walking has been shown to reduce the risk for breast cancer as well. According to an American Cancer Society study, women who walk seven-plus hours a week have a 14% lower risk of breast cancer than women who only walk for three hours or less.

Walking also eases knee and hip pain by reducing friction on cartilage and strengthening muscles around joints. And walking even 5 miles to 6 miles a week can help prevent arthritis from setting in.

In addition, walking boosts your immune system. One study of more than 1,000 people found that walking 20-plus minutes a day, five days a week, reduced the number of sick days suffered from the common cold and other upper respiratory diseases by 43%. And when the participants did get sick, the symptoms were less severe and lasted fewer days.