Whatever side you take on the issue of health insurance reform, the folks at Washington County Health Partners have an idea that will not only help keep medical costs down but also shape up the bodies of area residents.

Washington Walking, a project that emerged from a community wellness task force in 2005, had some 783 participants walking 72,067 miles last year.

They burned off an estimated 9,250,212 calories.

"The program is open to people of all ages and is meant to help keep track of walking activity," said Lee Rutledge-Falcione, executive director of Paratners, a nonprofit whose mission is to educate, collaborate and advocate for better health in Southwestern Pennsylvania.

Joining is as simple as registering on the website www.washingtonwalking.org, then regularly updating your daily walk.

"Walking is a universal exercise that almost everyone can do and with little financial outlay," Ms. Rutledge-Falcione said. "Newcomers can start slowly and work their way up gradually.''

A safe and simple aerobic exercise, walking strengthens bones, controls weight and conditions the heart and lungs.

The Washington Walking website posts a list of 10 parks with walking trails in Washington County, along with information on surface conditions and distance totals. It also identifies nine school districts that allow public access to district walking tracks. Additional tracks can be found indoors at the Washington Crown Center and outdoors at the Cameron Wellness Center in Washington.

In addition to input from individuals, the website offers an option for groups to record their walking tallies. Currently, 12 groups participate; among them is a program that includes 132 Washington County employees.

"Washington Walking is just one program county employees have joined as part of a larger wellness project established in 2005 called Washington Employees Living Longer," said Pat Maxon, county employee wellness and benefits administrator. "From Aug. 10 to Oct. 26, 2009, we had team captains keep a tally of cumulative miles walked by our county employee group."

Ms. Maxon, a resident of Blainesburg, said she walks every day, even on snowy or rainy conditions. She does have the advantage of being able to walk the steps at Courthouse Square, in the county parking garage and the perimeter of the county courthouse where she works.

The impetus behind Washington Walking came from Dr. William McMahon of Washington, and County Commissioner Bracken Burns. The duo agreed that it was necessary to create a user-friendly way of getting people to walk.

"The website is free; we hope it will become the springboard to a walking habit," Mr. Burns said.

"There was a time when I ran as much as seven miles a day," he said. "But while I'm now quite a bit off that pace, I still find time to walk as part of a healthy lifestyle."

In the fall, Dr. McMahon hopes to inaugurate a Walk with the Doc program, in which patients walk with their physician.

"We have a health care problem here in the United States," Dr. McMahon said. "It's important that we learn to live better and healthier. Walking is a good way to help prevent medical problems and fight heart disease and diabetes. It's a win-win situation."

Soon, the Washington Walking website will expand to include other types of activity -- everything from rowing, dancing and biking to swimming, jogging and gardening.

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