For a long time, 10 000 steps a day has been a benchmark for a healthy lifestyle. Now research shows that the health benefits arise earlier than that.
The more steps, the better. This is one of the conclusions of the comprehensive meta-study published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.
In the study, the research team was able to follow 226 889 participants for an average of seven years. The results show that taking as few as 2337 steps a day reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease mortality. Taking at least 3967 steps a day also reduced the risk of premature death for all causes of death.
The study also shows that the positive effects persist and increase the more steps you take. Up to 20 000 steps a day provide increased benefits.
Even a small increase each day is good. An extra 1000 steps a day leads to an average 15% lower risk of dying prematurely. 500 extra steps a day reduces the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease by 7%.
Mai-Lis Hellénius, Professor of Cardiovascular Prevention at Karolinska Institutet, what impact do you think these new insights will have?
– This study is important because it so clearly shows that every step counts and that the long-term health effects come from just a few thousand steps a day. But the recommendation of 10 000 steps will not change. At the same time, the study clearly shows that the health benefits are greater at 10 000 steps.
If you can’t reach 10 000 steps, what can you do?
– Stand up for a few minutes. You’ll feel better.
Source:
https://academic.oup.com/eurjpc/article/30/18/1975/7226309?login=false