Cardiovascular disease (CVD) includes conditions affecting the heart and blood vessels, such as coronary heart disease, heart failure and stroke. Although factors such as age, genetics and family history cannot be changed, diet, physical activity and weight are important modifiable risk factors.
Together, healthier eating and regular activity can help you maintain a healthy weight while directly improving blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar and blood-vessel health.
Why carrying excess weight can affect your heart
Living with overweight or obesity does not mean that someone will inevitably develop CVD. However, carrying excess body fat—particularly around the waist—is associated with a higher risk.
Fat stored around the abdominal organs, known as visceral fat, is more closely linked to heart and circulatory disease than fat stored around the hips and thighs. It can contribute to inflammation and increase the likelihood of developing:
- High blood pressure
- High LDL, or “bad”, cholesterol
- Type 2 diabetes
- Fatty liver disease
- Obstructive sleep apnoea
Each of these conditions can place additional strain on the heart or damage blood vessels over time.
According to the British Heart Foundation’s January 2026 statistics, approximately 29% of UK adults are living with obesity and a further 35% have a body mass index classed as overweight. Around one in nine UK cardiovascular deaths is associated with a high BMI.
BMI is a useful population-level screening measure, but it cannot distinguish between fat and muscle or show where fat is stored. For adults with a BMI below 35, the NHS also recommends considering waist-to-height ratio. As a general guide, you should try to keep your waist measurement below half your height.
Even relatively modest weight loss can be beneficial. The NHS advises that losing around 5–10% of body weight may improve health in people living with overweight or obesity. However, healthier food and regular movement can benefit cardiovascular health even when the number on the scales changes very little.
How diet influences cardiovascular risk
Diet affects considerably more than weight. What you eat can influence cholesterol, blood pressure, blood glucose and inflammation—all of which play a part in cardiovascular health.
A heart-healthy eating pattern generally includes:
- Plenty of fruit and vegetables
- Wholegrain or higher-fibre carbohydrates
- Beans, peas and lentils
- Nuts and seeds
- Fish, including oily fish
- Moderate amounts of lean meat or plant-based proteins
- Unsaturated oils, such as olive or rapeseed oil
- Fewer foods high in salt, free sugars and saturated fat
The NHS Eatwell Guide provides a practical picture of how these food groups can fit together. The balance does not need to be perfect at every meal; it is what you eat across a day or week that matters most.
Fibre deserves particular attention
Fibre-rich foods include wholegrain bread and cereals, oats, brown rice, wholewheat pasta, beans, lentils, fruit, vegetables, nuts and seeds.
An umbrella review of meta-analyses found that higher dietary-fibre intake was associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease, coronary heart disease and stroke. Soluble fibre, found in foods such as oats, barley, beans and some fruits, can also help lower LDL cholesterol.
UK adults are advised to consume 30g of fibre a day, yet more than 90% reportedly fall short. Average intake is approximately 18g—only around 60% of the recommendation.
Simple ways to eat more fibre include:
- Choosing wholemeal bread instead of white
- Leaving edible skins on potatoes, fruit and vegetables
- Adding beans or lentils to soups, curries and casseroles
- Starting the day with porridge or a wholegrain cereal
- Snacking on fruit, vegetables or a small portion of unsalted nuts
Increase fibre gradually and drink sufficient fluids, particularly if your current intake is low.
Watch saturated fat and salt
Eating too much saturated fat can increase LDL cholesterol, encouraging fatty material to accumulate inside the arteries. The NHS recommends no more than 30g of saturated fat a day for the average man and 20g for the average woman.
Helpful swaps include replacing butter, ghee and lard with small amounts of unsaturated oil; choosing leaner cuts of meat; and eating nuts, seeds or oily fish in place of some foods high in saturated fat. Comparing nutrition labels can make these choices easier.
Too much salt can raise blood pressure, often without causing noticeable symptoms. Much of the salt in our diets is already present in packaged foods, takeaway meals, sauces and processed meats, so checking labels may have a greater impact than simply removing the salt shaker.
Why physical activity matters—even without weight loss
The heart is a muscle, and regular activity helps it work more efficiently. Exercise can also lower blood pressure, improve cholesterol levels, increase insulin sensitivity and support stress management and sleep.
The British Heart Foundation reports that being physically active can reduce cardiovascular risk by as much as 35%. Yet approximately one in three UK adults does not achieve recommended activity levels.
Adults should aim for at least:
- 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity each week, such as brisk walking, cycling or swimming; or
- 75 minutes of vigorous activity; or
- An equivalent mixture of the two.
Adults should also undertake activities that strengthen the major muscle groups on at least two days each week and reduce long periods spent sitting.
Importantly, current UK guidance emphasises that benefits begin below the 150-minute target. The largest proportional gains occur when someone moves from being almost completely inactive to doing some activity. A ten-minute walk, taking the stairs or doing a little gardening is therefore a worthwhile start.
How WALX poles can transform a walk
For people who find ordinary walking uncomfortable, tiring or insufficiently challenging, correctly used WALX poles can change both how the body moves and how hard it works.
The poles create additional points of contact with the ground, which may improve balance, stability and confidence. By pressing through both poles, some of the effort and body weight that would otherwise be managed entirely by the legs can be transferred through the hands, arms, shoulders and upper body. This may help distribute the workload more evenly and reduce unnecessary strain on the knees and hips.
WALX poles have angled shafts and shaped handles designed to transfer force through the whole hand rather than concentrating it at the wrist. When used as a balanced pair, they can encourage an upright posture, a more natural walking rhythm and greater involvement of the upper body.
This can be especially useful for someone who:
- Feels unsteady when walking
- Is worried about uneven ground
- Experiences discomfort in the hips or knees
- Has become deconditioned after illness or inactivity
- Wants to walk further or more confidently
- Finds ordinary walking no longer provides a sufficient workout
The same poles can therefore play two different roles. Used gently, they can offer additional stability and help someone become more active. Used with a stronger, purposeful pushing action, they can turn walking into a more intensive, total-body exercise.
Why poles can increase calorie use
Normal walking relies predominantly on the legs. Effective pole walking also recruits muscles in the arms, shoulders, chest, back and core. Because more muscle groups are working, the body needs more oxygen and energy.
Research into pole walking indicates that it can increase energy expenditure compared with ordinary walking at the same speed. WALX reports that correct technique may result in approximately 20–40% more calories being used, although the actual difference varies considerably according to walking speed, terrain, body weight, fitness and how forcefully the poles are used.
This does not mean that simply carrying poles will burn substantially more calories. The benefit comes from planting and pushing through them correctly so that the upper body actively contributes to forward movement. Good instruction can therefore make a significant difference.
Calorie expenditure should also be kept in perspective. Exercise is valuable for cardiovascular fitness, strength, mobility and wellbeing regardless of the calorie figure shown by a watch or fitness tracker. Long-term weight management still depends on the overall balance between diet, activity, sleep, health and other individual factors.
For somebody currently inactive, poles may make movement feel safer and more achievable. For an established walker, they can increase the intensity without necessarily requiring a faster pace. In both cases, they can help turn a familiar and accessible activity into a more complete cardiovascular and muscular workout.
Walking poles are not automatically suitable as a replacement for a prescribed walking stick, crutch or other medical aid. Anyone recovering from surgery or living with significant balance, neurological, joint or cardiovascular problems should seek advice from an appropriate healthcare professional and learn the correct technique from a qualified WALX instructor.
Small changes that can add up
Attempting to overhaul everything at once can be difficult to sustain. It may be more manageable to choose one or two specific changes, such as:
- Add a serving of vegetables to the evening meal.
- Replace one refined-grain food with a wholegrain alternative.
- Take a ten-minute walk after lunch or dinner.
- Try a supported or instructor-led WALX pole-walking session.
- Break up sitting time by standing or moving every hour.
- Plan two short strength sessions each week.
- Check salt, saturated-fat and fibre figures when comparing packaged foods.
Choose activities and foods that are affordable, accessible and enjoyable. Consistency matters more than perfection, and occasional less-nutritious meals do not undo an otherwise balanced pattern.
If you have a heart condition, significant joint problems or another long-term condition—or have been inactive for a long time—ask a GP or appropriate healthcare professional about increasing activity safely.
The central message is encouraging: healthier eating and more movement do not only work by changing body weight. They can begin improving cardiovascular health in their own right. With the additional stability and whole-body involvement provided by correctly used WALX poles, walking may become more achievable, more effective and more enjoyable—and every sustainable step counts.
