Want to take off those extra holiday pounds? Push away from the table and go for a walk.

Physicians have long regarded walking as among the finest of aerobic exercises. Research indicates the cardiovascular benefits of walking are virtually identical to those of running or doing aerobics.

Walkers and runners burn about the same amount of calories per mile. But walkers are a lot less likely to get hurt. A study on cross training indicated runners lost five times as many days to injury during the research period than power walkers did.

And you don't need a gym membership, special equipment or lots of instruction to take up walking.

The health benefits are substantial. A study of 84,000 female nurses aged 40-65 found that women who walked at least three hours a week were 40 percent less likely to have a heart attack than women who didn't walk. Walkers have lower bad cholesterol and lower blood pressure than sedentary people do.

Walking can keep chocoholics from snacking, according to research conducted by the University of Exeter in Britain. "It could be that exercise affects brain chemicals that help to regulate mood and cravings," said Prof. Adrian Taylor, who conducted the study of 25 regular chocolate eaters.

The farther and faster you walk, the greater the benefit. The nurses study defined walking "briskly" as walking 3-4 miles an hour, or a mile every 15-20 minutes. It takes a pace of 7 miles an hour to get one's heart rate up to 85 percent of max, the level at which aerobic benefits are greatest.

But walking slowly is significantly better than not walking at all. According to the nurses study, people who walk slowly were 32 percent less likely to have a heart attack than people who didn't walk at all.

A reasonable target for most people is to walk briskly for half an hour a day five or six days a week. But you should start slow and easy and work your way up, say the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and the Mayo Clinic. You should set realistic goals, and you should measure your progress. And remember to warm up and stretch.

One of the great things about walking is that you can do it just about anywhere, indoors (in a shopping mall, for instance) as well as outdoors. But if you'd like some suggestions on routes, 199 -- ranging from less than half a mile to more than 10 -- can be found at www.mapmywalk.com.