Walking 4,000 Steps Daily Reduces the Risk of Death

Surprisingly, walking 2,337 steps per day can greatly reduce the chance of dying from cardiovascular disease. Every additional 1,000 steps reduce the risk of dying from any cause by 15%, whereas just 500 extra steps reduce cardiovascular disease-related mortality by 7%.

Maciej Banach, a professor of cardiology at the Medical University of Lodz in Poland, said, “Our study confirms that the more you walk, the better. We found that this applied to both men and women, irrespective of age, and irrespective of whether you live in a temperate, subtropical or subpolar region of the world, or a region with a mixture of climates.”

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), insufficient physical exercise is the fourth leading cause of death in the world, accounting for nearly 3.2 million deaths per year (2).

Tailoring Daily Steps for Different Age Groups

Meanwhile, the ideal range for persons aged 60 and up is between 6,000 and 10,000 steps each day. But hold on, there’s more! The team also investigated the effects of walking up to 20,000 steps each day, which is similar to traveling 9-10 kilometers.

To their surprise, the health advantages continued to skyrocket, with no evidence of decreasing returns. However, the team warns that evidence on these “high steppers” is still limited, and further research is needed.

References:

1. DOI:10.1093/eurjpc/zwad229
2. https:www.who.int/data/gho/indicator-metadata-registry/imr-details/3416#:~:text=Insufficient%20physical%20activity%20is%20the,attributable%20to%20insufficient%20physical%20activity.

Source: Medindia