"What you need to know before you go out and buy a pair of walking shoes is what type of foot you have," said Kathleen Huddy, textiles director, Good Housekeeping Institute. "Take a brown piece of paper, wet your bare foot, step on it as if you were walking and look at what the imprint is. If you see a lot of your foot in the wet imprint that means you have a low arch, and you'll need something like the Asics Gel Walker for $100."

In contrast, if you see just a little of your foot on the imprint, that means you have a high arch, and Huddy said what you need is a shoe with a lot of arch support. Good Housekeeping recommended the Brooks Defyance for $90.

But Dr. James Korponay, a podiatrist, said you don’t necessarily have to break the bank to get a quality shoe. "If price were the deciding factor, I would go with the least expensive," he said. For quality at an affordable price, Good Housekeeping recommended the Saucony Grid Instep RT, which costs just $60.

A final note: Good Housekeeping said a good walking shoe should be as wide as your foot or slightly wider, to ensure an even distribution of weight. To learn more, check out the October issue of Good Housekeeping or visit www.goodhousekeeping.com.