It is well known through many studies that walking exercise reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease and death. A study of middle-aged Americans found that those who walked 7,000 steps a day had a 50 to 70 percent lower risk of premature death than those who walked 7,000 steps a day. Additionally, a study of elderly people in Asia, Australia, Europe, and North America found that the risk of death for the top 25% in step count was 40-53% lower than that for the bottom 25%. So what is the number of steps that has the highest effect on reducing the risk of premature death?
Recently, according to a research team from the Department of Physical Education at the University of Granada in Spain, the number of steps that can maximally reduce the risk of premature death or cardiovascular disease was found to be 8,700 steps. The researchers conducted this study to provide specific goals for the number of steps per day for health.
Walking more than 8,000 steps a day can lower your risk of premature death and cardiovascular disease | Source: Getty Image Bank
Walking 8,700 steps a day lowers the risk of premature death by 60%.
A research team from the Department of Physical Education at the University of Granada in Spain analyzed 12 international studies involving more than 110,000 people. These studies evaluated the effect of daily steps on all-cause mortality.
The study found that people who walked 2,735 steps every day reduced their risk of developing cardiovascular disease by 11%. Additionally, the optimal number of steps to reduce the probability of premature death was 8,763 steps, which reduced the risk by 60%. In the case of cardiovascular disease, walking 7,126 steps a day reduced the risk of developing cardiovascular disease by 51%.
There were no differences between men and women in this study. However, faster walking speed was associated with a reduced risk of death regardless of the total number of steps per day. It is generally believed that many people need to walk about 10,000 steps to reap the health benefits. Through this study, the research team found that walking more than the ideal number of steps does not worsen your health.
The research team also added, “This study showed that walking 16,000 steps a day was not dangerous, and on the other hand, there were no greater health benefits compared to walking 7,000 to 9,000 steps a day.”
Previous studies related to step count and health have only discussed approximate step count. However, this study is significant in that it sets a clear number of steps for the first time. In particular, it is difficult for most people to understand the intensity of exercise, but the number of steps is much simpler in that it can be easily measured using a smartphone or smartwatch.
The results of this study were published in the latest issue of the journal ‘Journal of the American College of Cardiology’.
Step count also affects chronic diseases
The number of steps you take reduces the risk of premature death and cardiovascular disease, but it also affects chronic diseases. Researchers at Vanderbilt University in the U.S. used a wearable physical activity monitor to analyze the exercise records and health indicators of 6,042 people over four years to determine how the number of steps affects chronic diseases such as high blood pressure and diabetes.
As a result of the analysis, it was found that the more steps one takes, the lower the risk of chronic diseases such as obesity (body mass index 30 or more), sleep apnea, gastroesophageal reflux disease, major depressive disorder, high blood pressure, and type 2 diabetes. For example, increasing the number of steps per day to 10,000 steps reduced the risk of obesity by 31%.
The researchers said, “As the number of steps increased, the risk of most diseases decreased,” but explained, “The effects for high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes plateaued above 8,000 to 9,000 steps per day.”
If you walk less than 8,000 steps, your risk increases with age. If you walk 6,000 steps a day, the risk of being diagnosed with high blood pressure increases to 4% after 3 years, 10% after 5 years, and 17% after 7 years. Except for high blood pressure, other diseases gradually decreased. Researchers said that 8,200 steps per day appears to be the inflection point that significantly reduces the risk of these chronic diseases. 8,200 steps is the number of steps equivalent to walking for 1 hour and 20 minutes at a normal pace or 1 hour at a brisk pace.
“Although this study does not show a direct causal relationship between step count and chronic disease, the strong statistical association between the two shows that increasing step count and intensity can reduce disease risk,” the researchers said.
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2023-10-31 05:00:00
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