How much should you walk a day to preserve your health and prolong your life? Studies vary and the recommended number of daily steps seems more or less random. A new analysis on the subject offers surprising results.
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It is necessary to repeat the activity physicalphysical it is good for health. On the other hand, the way of life sedentary (generally defined as less than 5,000 steps per day) is associated with an increased risk of mortality from cardiovascular disease or any other cause. Inactivity also increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Due to its high prevalence, this behavior is even considered a disease of the 21st century.e century.
” The more you walk, the less likely you are to die », summarize the researchers of the new meta-analysismeta-analysis on that topic, published in European Journal of Preventive Cardiology. This comprehensive synthesis of 17 international studies is the first to assess the effect of walking up to 20,000 steps per day, but also to note whether there are differences depending on age, gender or region of the world. The result: except for some differences between people under 60 and older people, the results were found to be essentially the same.
The analysis included 226,889 participants (average age 64, half women) who were divided into four groups according to the number of steps they took each day. The follow-up period was approximately seven years.
The more we walk, the better!
A study finds that walking at least 3,967 steps per day is associated with a reduced risk of death from all causes. This number even drops to 2337 (steps per day) to reduce the risk of death from cardiovascular disease. So we are far from 10,000 steps a day is usually recommended.
The researchers did not even find an upper limit to the increase in profits. The risk of death (from cardiovascular disease or any other cause) would be significantly reduced every time we took an extra 500 to 1000 steps during the day. Thus, an increase of 1,000 steps per day was associated with a 15% reduction in the risk of death from all causes, and an increase of 500 steps per day was associated with a 7% reduction in the risk of death from all causes. heart disease.
The authors report that compared with the reference group (with a median of 3967 steps/day), group 1 (5537 steps), group 2 (7370 steps), and group 3 (11529 steps) were associated with a lower risk of all-cause mortality (48 , 55 and 67% respectively. The same type of association was found between the number of steps per day and mortality from cardiovascular disease.
Further research is needed
” However, I must emphasize that the available data on steps up to 20,000 per day were limited, and these results therefore need to be confirmed on larger groups of people. “, He said dr. Ibadete Bytyçi, lead author of the meta-analysis. ” We still need high-quality studies to determine whether these benefits may exist for types of intense effort, such as marathons and “Iron Man” challenges, and in populations with different health conditions. »
Furthermore, this observational study alone cannot prove that increased steps cause a decreased risk of death, it only shows an association.
