Every extra step you take above the 2,200 steps per day threshold reduces the risk of premature death, a new study shows. But those who take between 9,500 and 10,000 steps daily have the lowest risk of early death.
Every step you take reduces the risk of premature death – Photo Archive
Walking is the easiest way to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and premature death, even when you sit down all day. The study shows that every extra step above 2,200 steps up to 10,000 steps a day helps reduce the risk of premature death, regardless of how long we are sedentary during the day, according to The Guardian.
The research was published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. The scientists observed that the lowest risk of premature death was among people who took between 9,000 and 10,500 steps per day. Stroke and heart attack can be avoided with just 9,700 steps a day, the study also shows.
Professors from the University of Sydney analyzed data from more than 70,000 people aged around 61 from the UK Biobank. Participants wore an accelerometer for seven days to measure their level of exercise. After a seven-year follow-up, there were 1,633 deaths and 6,190 cardiovascular events, such as heart attack or stroke.
The researchers concluded that between 9,000 and 10,500 steps per day reduced the risk of premature death by 39% and the risk of heart attack or stroke by more than a fifth.
Moreover, any number of daily steps above 2,200 per day was linked to lower rates of death and heart disease, independent of how much time a person spent sedentary, the benefits increased with the more steps taken by people. In fact, half of the benefits were obtained at a step count between 4,000 and 4,500 steps per day.
“We know that daily physical activity is essential to help maintain a healthy lifestyle and for a reduces the risk of developing heart diseases and stroke risk. These hopeful new studies show that every step toward reaching 10,000 steps a day counts for reducing the risk of death and heart disease. Even a low level of activity can reduce the risk of stroke. We encourage everyone to stay active for heart and circulatory health by getting 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week. This can be any activity that fits your lifestyle, such as taking regular walking breaks away from the computer screen, going to the gym, attending physical exercises or even getting off the bus one stop earlier to take more steps.Julie Ward, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, said according to the source.
