2023-08-26 10:47:16
Walking 10,000 every day would be the key to a healthier life. Preconceived idea or scientific reality? Studies exist.
It may be one of your back-to-school resolutions: walk 10,000 steps every day to be healthy. The goal is often brandished, including by the World Health Organization (WHO) in a since-deleted 2008 guideline booklet. In truth, this course was not imagined by scientists.
“These 10,000 steps date from the Olympic Games in Japan in 1965. There is a pedometer manufacturer who had the idea of giving this daily number as a reference. This has been taken up very regularly, including by the WHO”, summarizes Doctor Alain Ducardonnet, BFMTV health consultant.
Since these Olympics, several experts have looked into this dogma. A study published by Harvard Medical School in May 2019 sets a different course. The researchers observed the link between mortality and the number of steps. For this, they followed 16,741 healthy American women, aged 72 on average. Study result:
“As you increase the number of steps per day, death rates gradually decrease before stabilizing at around 7,500 steps per day.”
“Tonic walk on the verge of shortness of breath”
More recently, a meta-analysis combining data from 15 studies resulted in a slightly different objective. The postulate is the same, daily activity is associated with “a progressively lower risk of all-cause mortality”. The benefits are multiple, both for the cardiovascular system and mental health.
But the analysis leads to another quota. Thus, it would be necessary to oscillate between 8,000 and 10,000 strides per day before the age of 60, and between 6,000 and 8,000 following this age. Doing more would not have demonstrated additional long-term effects.
The intensity of this walk must also be taken into account. “You have to practice a tonic walk, be on the verge of shortness of breath”, specifies Doctor Ducardonnet.
Whether it’s walking or more vigorous physical activity, the French don’t move enough. As the National Health Security Agency (ANSES) warned in 2022, “95% of the adult population is at risk of health deterioration due to lack of physical activity or too long time spent sitting”.
To facilitate the monitoring of his walking practice, or his physical activity, technological solutions exist. Connected watches or smartphone applications can be used to monitor sports practice in real time throughout the day.
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