Hikers have less incidence of cancer, heart disease, stroke, diabetes and other killer diseases. Hikers live longer and get mental health and spiritual benefits. If you hike with a partner or group of people, you will find you will also increase social bonds.

There is much medical research and data available to support the massive health benefits and overall mental health benefits of hiking.

Usually if you are planning to do a multi-day hike then you need to train beforehand to make sure that you are fit enough so by setting a date to do the hike then you are more motivated to go out and train. This gives the added benefit of making you exercise to get fit before you go hiking. For some of the harder hikes I have done I train for about 3 months before the hike so that when you do the hike you are much fitter and enjoy it more instead of struggling on some of those big hills.

You should not let age stop you hiking as I have seen some groups of people in their mid 70's out on hiking trails enjoying the outdoors while remaining very fit at the same time. If you are older and considering hiking then it may be worth considering hikes where you don't have to carry much weight. There are many hiking companies that can organize this for you. As an example most companies that organise the Kokoda treks have a policy that you have a porter to carry your pack if you are 55 or older. This being said when I did the Kokoda trek my group was all over 55 and we carried a full pack so it is possible to do it either way.

It has been found that on longer hikes when you are fit and have walked for a few days then you get a feeling of wellbeing and a sense that you could continue to walk forever, which has to be good for you. So you can see, there are many health benefits of hiking.