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Judi Mason walks for exercise in Piedmont Park in Atlanta, Ga. More people walk these days than they did five years ago, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The greatest increase was in the South.

More Americans are going for a walk, a promising trend to help fight obesity and improve overall health, according to a new study released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Overall in the United States, 62 percent of people reported walking at least once for 10 minutes or more during the previous week in 2010. That's up from 56 percent in 2005.

And while the percentage of walkers in the South still lags behind other parts of the country, it saw the largest jump in walking, according to the CDC. In the region that includes Georgia, 15 other states and Washington, D.C., 57 percent of people walked in 2010, up from 49 percent in 2005, according to the CDC. People in the West are most likely to walk, with more than two-thirds of people there regularly walking.

Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the CDC, said walking for as little as 10 minutes a week is a great first step toward meeting the recommended amount of 150 minutes per week of physical activity.

"Physical activity really is a wonder drug," Frieden said during a recent news conference. "It makes you healthier and happier; you live longer." Frieden listed a slew of health benefits from walking and other forms of aerobic exercise. They included lowering the risk of heart attack, stroke and diabetes, and helping get a better night's sleep.

Even if you don't lose weight from walking, walkers can still reap health benefits from this low-impact form of exercise.

Walking, he said, has a

The CDC study found walkers are nearly three times more likely to meet exercise recommendations than those who don't walk at all.

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