Holistic Health
Taking a few thousand steps a day keeps death away
Novel study offers useful metric for physical activity and reducing risk of death
Physical activity is regularly touted for its significant health benefits , but it�s often unclear how much will actually make a difference . New research is now offering more insights .
A review of 1� studies found that those under �0 who took between � , 000 and 1� , 000 daily steps saw an almost �9 percent reduction in death from all causes , while older individuals needed �ust � , 000 to 10,000 steps to reduce their mortality risk by �2 . � percent . These amounted to the greatest benefits people could reap , according to the study published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology .
While these amounts may seem daunting , the researchers said that risk reduction could also be observed starting from only about � , 000 steps and increased by about 1� percent for every additional 1,000 daily steps .
“ Our study confirms that the more you walk , the better . We found that this applied to both men and women , irrespective of age , and irrespective of whether you live in a temperate , subtropical or subpolar region of the world , or a region with a mixture of climates ,” Dr Macie� Banach , a professor of cardiology at the Medical �niversity of Lodz in Poland and lead researcher of the study , told the Guardian .
An even lower cut-off number was needed to cut the risk of death from cardiovascular disease , with about 2 , ��� steps able to provide people with health benefits . By adding �00 steps to their daily routine , people could reduce cardiovascular death risk by seven percent .
“ In a world where we have more and more advanced drugs to target specific conditions such as cardiovascular disease , I believe we should always emphasise that lifestyle changes , including diet and exercise , might be at least as � or even more � effective in reducing cardiovascular risk and prolonging lives ,” said Dr Banach .
Researchers observed that participants who took up to 20,000 steps a day could keep improving their health but acknowledged that data were limited to reach strong conclusions and more research was needed .
The World Health Organization ( WHO ) says that insu�cient physical activity is the fourth leading risk
factor for mortality , with about � . 2 million deaths a year attributed to it . Physical inactivity will also lead almost �00 million people to develop heart disease , obesity , diabetes , or other noncommunicable diseases between 2020 and 20�0 , leading to a yearly cost of �S�2� billion , according to the Global status report on physical activity 2022 by the WHO .
The new study shows that even such a simple way of increasing physical activity could go a long way to improving public health .
“ This research shows us �ust how good walking is for our health . If you packaged the benefits as a pill , we would be hailing it as a wonder drug .
“ Exercising or getting active can seem quite daunting if we haven�t done it for a while or find it too di�cult to fit into our busy lives . What�s great about walking is that it does not require special equipment or training , and you can do it almost anywhere ,” Professor �ames Leiper , associate medical director at the British Heart Foundation , told the Guardian .
Those under 60 who took between 7,000 and 13,000 daily steps saw an almost 49 percent reduction in death from all causes
22 ISSUE 5 | 2023 GlobalHealthAsiaPacific . com