The idea that you need to hit 10,000 steps daily to stay healthy and live a long life was debunked long ago by exercise scientists. A little movement is good, they argue, but more is better. Now, new research This highlights that people can benefit greatly from relatively few daily steps.
The researchers analyzed 17 studies that looked at how many steps people typically took in a week and followed up on their health after about seven years. The researchers concluded that walking less than 4,000 steps a day reduced the risk of dying from all causes, including cardiovascular disease.
That’s a 30-45 minute walk, or about two miles, depending on the person, said Dr. Seth Shay Martin, a cardiologist at Johns Hopkins Medical School and study author. But the more steps you take, the better your health. For every 1,000 additional steps participants took, the risk of death decreased by 15%.
“This is the best drug we can recommend. Just go for a walk,” said Randall Thomas, Ph.D., a preventive heart disease specialist at the Mayo Clinic who was not involved in the study.
The study could not definitively prove whether steps per se reduce the risk of disease or death, or whether people who are more likely to be healthy take more steps throughout the day. And because the researchers combined data from multiple studies to determine the 4,000-step goal, it may not provide the same benefits for everyone, says McMaster University associate professor of physical fitness. “Moves, heals,” was not involved in the research.
“We don’t want people to see it as a magic number that says they have to go beyond the exact number of steps,” Dr. Martin says. “The more, the better.”
Dr. Yi Ming Lee, a Harvard Medical School professor and expert in pedometer and health, said the principle was already well established in exercise research, but he was also not involved in the study. But new research highlights that fitness isn’t “all or nothing,” she said: Any little exercise can help. She said that the small movement fragments that we incorporate into our day, like running from the bedroom to the bathroom or rushing to get coffee, add up to make a difference.
But people who don’t see themselves as active, or who find it difficult to exercise because of a chronic illness, may be underestimating the value of exercise they can get, Dr. Hyes said. rice field. An extra circle around the block or stepping outside for a 10-minute walk break can make a big difference.
People who reach the upper limit of steps in these studies are likely already exercising, whether they’re running or playing sports, Dr. Lee said. The people who benefit most from taking more steps are those who are currently taking fewer steps.
According to Dr. Martin, to incorporate additional exercise, start by assessing a baseline number of steps using a fitness tracker or built-in pedometer on your smartphone, then consider adding just one walk per day. It is possible. That means walking phone meetings instead of video calls, parking your car farther away, and taking your kids to the park and chasing them around, he suggested.
“People are thinking, ‘Well, this won’t get me to 10,000 steps. I’m not that far, so why bother?'” Dr. Hyes says. “It’s depressing. But I believe that by pronouncing and sticking to this tenet of better than nothing, we can reap the mental health and physical benefits of just a short, brief exercise break.” I think so.”
