How beneficial is walking for your health? How many steps do you need to take to live longer? To find out, American researchers (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) looked at the habits of 16,732 participants over the age of 60, from the Women’s Health Study.
The latter notably wore a belt which counted the number of steps taken per day for four to seven days. Thanks to the observation of scientists, whose follow-up spanned from 2011 to 2019, they were thus divided into two groups:
- one group was made up of women walking for ten minutes or more without a break;
- the other was made up of women sometimes walking as much, but for shorter periods, and during their daily activities (cleaning, walking to his car, climbing the stairs…).
During this period, 804 deaths occurred.
28% lower risk of death
As a result, no matter what style you choose, walking more has been shown to improve life expectancy. In other words, walking for a long time at one time is as good as taking a few steps several times a day.
Compared with people who didn’t walk at all, taking 1,000 steps a day was associated with a 28% lower risk of death.
This percentage even reached 32% among those who took more than 2,000 steps per day.
The study also found that the benefits of walking on life expectancy peaked at 4,500 steps per day.
While it is difficult for older people to be physically active in a club, walking can therefore be a very attractive option for those over 60.
Especially since you just have to park your car a little further in the supermarket parking lot or climb the stairs instead of taking the elevator to take dozens of additional steps.
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