CLEVELAND — Wednesday was National Take the Stairs Day.

What You Need To Know

  • A representative from The American Lung Association with asthma shared why she takes the stairs

  • A firefighter from Cleveland Fire shares how lung disease has affected his family

  • More than 34 million people living in the U.S. live with chronic lung diseases

The goal is to improve lung health by choosing a life of movement over convenience. 

According to the American Lung Association, more than 34 million people in the U.S. live with chronic lung diseases. 

National Take the Stairs Day is celebrated the second Wednesday in January, and it has a special meaning for Catherine Widemire, who not only works for The American Lung Association but also suffers from asthma. 

“I’ve had asthma my whole life. It’s affected me. I was a dancer as a child, I loved to do outdoor sports, climb stairs, paddle board, I just have to be very careful with everything I do to watch weather and air quality and make sure that my lungs are feeling healthy that day to do any activities,” Widemire said.

Widemire cautions that taking too many stairs could cause problems for some people with asthma.

She recommended checking with your doctor to figure out what’s best for you.

But for her, she said it helps her achieve her fitness goals.

“It’s so good for your cardiovascular and your lung capacity. It helps you breathe better. Taking the stairs burns two to three times more calories than any other outdoor activity,” Widemire said.

And it’s more than just people with asthma who can benefit from taking stairs.

“We have a very strenuous job when the call comes in. Day-to-day calls are not so bad, but when you go to a real fire, the stress levels are high and your heart rate goes through the roof,” Lash said.

Jeff Lash is a firefighter within the Cleveland Fire Department who participates every winter in the American Lung Association’s stair crawl. For him, it’s personal. He lost both his mother and father from lung cancer. He said his father was a fireman as well. 

“I do this event every year and I have every year since I’ve been on the job. This will be my 15th event with the American Lung Association and I vow to do it as long as my knees are healthy and I can do the stairs. I’ll do this until the day I retire,” Lash said.

“Take the stairs any chance that you get. I park my car away from the store and I walk in. Any chance you get to keep your body moving. The more exercise, the better,” Lash said.

And perhaps the best part about stairs is that you don’t need a gym membership to find them.

Kim Covey, with the American Lung Association, said using them can change your lifestyle and it can be especially helpful for those working in an office setting sitting all day. 

“And really, it just helps your overall fitness in general and like I said, that little change in your health can really affect your daily life, so it’s really beneficial for everything,” Covey said.