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This has become a slogan on the lips of doctors for good health and well -being: measures are at your steps. Ideally, 10,000 every day.
But how many steps do you really need to make to reap promising benefits for your health? And what exactly does walking in your body offer?
A new study shows that the magic number is about 7,000 steps per day. The achievement of this goal is associated with a significantly lower risk of health problems, from dementia to heart disease, depression, type 2 diabetes and cancer.
Features, the risk of cancer develops by 6%, while 38% reduces the risk of dementia, according to a study published in Lancet public health magazine on Thursday.
7000 steps per day are also associated with the risk of falls by 28%, which can be fatal for the elderly.
The results “reject the myth that 10,000 steps per day should be the purpose of optimal health,” said Dr. Daniel Bailey, a researcher about the influence of living behavior on health at the University of Brunel in London, who did not participate in the study.
The results of the study will not surprise those who know about the advantages of easy exercises for the health of the heart. Fast walking increases heart rate, improves blood circulation, reduces blood pressure and can help people lose weight.
But the new analysis is the first to prove that walking may limit the risk of multiple health problems, according to the international research group.
Advantages of walking
For analysis, researchers observed the data of more than 160,000 people in 31 studies.
They found that people with even moderate steps – about 4000 per day – had the best results for their health than people with a very sitting life, who had about 2000 steps a day.
The more people went, the better they went if they had a condition, like heart disease. But for other diseases, the advantages, according to, were reduced after about 7,000 steps per day, according to the study.
“The impact on the real world is that people can only be beneficial for their health from a slight increase in physical activity, for example, take 1000 steps per day,” said Daniel Bailey.
The report has some restrictions, in particular that the results of cancer and dementia are less safe, since the data came from only several studies. In addition, some of the studies included did not fully take into account other factors that may affect health, such as age or weakness.
Despite this, the researchers said that the results may be encouraging for people who are not very active, since 7000 steps per day can be a more realistic goal than the previous target goal of 10,000 steps.
Stephen Harridge, a professor of human and applied physiology at the Royal College, London, who also did not participate in the study, said in his statement that the measurements of steps do not shed much light on the intensity of physical activity of people, which is also important for well achievement.
Health experts recommend adults to perform at least 150 minutes of moderate exercises, such as fast walking or bicycle, per week or 75 minutes of intensive exercises once a week.
Nevertheless, Harridge welcomed the conclusions.
“This study adds to all knowledge that show that physical activity is vital for health, and everything that encourages people to be more active is useful for both physical and mental health,” Harridge said.