For more info visit newsinfusion.com DALLAS (April 12, 2010) — Laila Ali, world champion athlete and former professional boxer, is encouraging people to walk 30 minutes a day as part of the National Start! Walking Day campaign. From coast to coast, Americans laced up their sneakers and took steps — literally — to increase physical activity when they participated in NS!WD events on Wednesday April 7th. National Start! Walking Day, in its fourth year — included more than 3.2 million people representing about 1,300 companies — and is sponsored by the American Heart Association as part of its Start! initiative. Start! champions walking because it has the lowest dropout rate of any physical activity. The association conducts the National Start! Walking Day primarily in the workplace because jobs are becoming increasingly sedentary and Americans are working 164 more hours per year than 20 years ago. Ali is a natural choice of spokesperson for the American Heart Association. “I’ve always been interested in health and wellness, and I am honored to work with the American Heart Association, an organization dedicated to preventing heart disease,” said Ali, whose family has a history of heart disease, stroke and diabetes. “As a working mother, I have to fit my workouts in when I can.”