For years they told us that we had to take 10,000 steps a day to stay fit. But the truth is that that number does not arise from a medical office, but from a Japanese advertising campaign of the sixties. Now, thanks to the wider scientific analysis ever conducted on the subject, confirmation arrives: 7,000 steps a day are more than enough to protect health, reducing the risk of early death, dementia, depression, cardiovascular diseases and even tumors.
A study published on The Lancet Public Healthconducted by Professor Melody Ding of the University of Sydney, analyzed the data of 57 research carried out all over the world, with the aim of understanding how much physical activity really serves to stay healthy. And the answer is surprisingly simple.
The results of the study
The study compared the health benefits between those who walk only 2,000 steps per day and those who make at least 7,000. Here’s what he discovered:
Translated into practice: walking every day can save life, or at least make it longer and better. And there are not long walks or intense training. Just a little more movement every day, also divided at different times of the day.
Furthermore, the benefits are constant among all ages, in every continent and with every type of device used to count the steps: smartphones, smartwatches, pedometers or fitness trackers. You don’t even need to walk quickly: what matters is the quantity of steps, not so much speed.
The more you walk, the better … but after the 7,000 steps the benefits stabilize
The study also measured how much the benefits are increasing as you walk the most. The result? The advantages grow quickly up to 7,000 steps, then slow down. For example:
And the even more positive news is that even walking only 4,000 steps per day, the equivalent of about 30 minutes on foot, involves a reduction in the risk of death of 36% compared to those who only do 2,000 steps. It is an important result, especially for those with a sedentary lifestyle or a short time available.
According to Professor Daniel Bailey, expert from the University of Brunel in London, this study “Escort the myth of 10,000 steps”: just add 1,000 steps a day to start feeling the first benefits. That’s why this new goal is considered more realistic and accessible for most people.
Walking is a simple gesture, but it can make a difference in your life
The beauty of this study is that it speaks to everyone: young people, adults, elderly people, active and sedentary people. Walking is an activity at zero cost, within the reach of anyone, and can become a healthy daily habit.
As Jon Scrov, a 64 -year -old Englishman who started walking every day after a heart attack:
It’s not just a matter of numbers. Walking improves my mental well -being, and this is something that cannot always be measured.
And this seems to be the most important message: walking does not only serve to live longer, but to live better. It is an activity that helps feel good in body and mind, to slow down, breathe, to take time for itself.
The quality of the step (i.e. intensity or speed) matters, but it is not fundamental. The data on the effects of speed are still few. What really makes the difference is to start moving, day after day, and making it part of your routine.
Don’t you want to lose our news?
You may also be interested in:
