You have to walk at least 5000 steps to be effective.
Walking is one of the easiest ways to strengthen both physical and mental health. Wear comfortable walking shoes and walk vigorously. Regular walking lowers the risk of chronic diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure, improves mood, prevents varicose veins, improves digestion, relieves joint pain, and improves thinking skills.
Research has shown that walking an extra 20 minutes a day can significantly lower the risk of heart disease and stroke in people who don’t walk much. Researchers at the University of Leicester, UK, looked at the relationship between walking distance and cardiovascular disease in 9306 adults with pre-diabetes in 40 countries.
The researchers measured exactly how many steps people in the study walked per day. The study found that walking an extra 20 minutes a day might reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, such as a heart attack or stroke, by 8%. In particular, it was found that walking was more effective in people at risk for diabetes, such as those in this study.
A 20-minute walk is roughly equivalent to 2000 steps. Experts say, “You need to walk at least 5,000 steps a day to be effective.” The research team explained, “The subjects in this study, who were at high risk for diabetes, increased the amount of walking exercise more than 2,000 steps a day for one year.
The results of this study (Association between change in daily ambulatory activity and cardiovascular events in people with impaired glucose tolerance (NAVIGATOR trial): a cohort analysis) were published in the international medical journal The Lancet.
By Kwon Soon-il, staff reporter [email protected]
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