2023-08-15 06:23:38
How much do you have to walk per day to preserve your health capital and increase your life expectancy? Studies diverge and the number of recommended 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 it, physical physical activity is good for health. In contrast, a sedentary lifestyle (generally defined as less than 5,000 steps per day) is associated with an increased risk of death 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 the disease of the 21st century.
« The more you walk, the less likely you are to die sum up the researchers of a new meta-analysis meta-analysis on the subject, published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology. This vast synthesis of 17 international studies is the first to evaluate the effect of walking up to 20,000 steps per day, but also to note whether there are differences according to age, sex or region. of the world. Result: apart from a few differences between those under 60 and older people, the results found are substantially the same.
226,889 participants (64 years old on average, half of them women) were included in the analysis and divided into four groups according to their number of steps taken every day. The follow-up period was approximately seven years.
The more we walk, the better!
The study finds that walking at least 3,967 steps per day is associated with a decreased risk of death from all causes. This number even drops to 2,337 (steps per day) to reduce the risk of death from cardiovascular disease. We are therefore far from the 10,000 steps per day usually recommended.
The researchers did not even find an upper limit to the increase in benefits. The risk of death (from cardiovascular disease or any other cause) would decrease significantly each time one takes 500 to 1,000 more steps during the day. Thus, an increase of 1,000 steps per day is associated with a 15% reduction in the risk of death from all causes combined, and an increase of 500 steps per day is associated with a 7% reduction in the risk of death from cardiovascular disease.
The authors specify that compared to the reference group (with a median of 3,967 steps/day), group 1 (5,537 steps), group 2 (7,370 steps) and group 3 (11,529 steps) were associated with a lower risk of all-cause mortality (48%, 55% and 67% respectively). This same type of association was found between the number of daily steps and cardiovascular mortality.
Further studies are needed
« However, I must point out that the available data on step counts up to 20,000 per day was limited, and therefore these results need to be confirmed on larger groups of people. », said Dr. Ibadete Bytyçi, lead author of the meta-analysis. ” We still need high-quality studies to determine whether these benefits may exist for intensive types of exertion, such as marathons and Iron Man challenges, and in populations with various health conditions. »
Also, this observational study alone cannot prove that increased step count is the cause of the reduced risk of death, it only shows an association.
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