How many steps should you take every day to stay healthy and live longer?
2023-11-23
Perhaps you have also heard that 10,000 steps a day is good for health. In fact, this statement originated from the marketing of a pedometer in Japan many years ago and has no scientific basis. But we also know that sitting for a long time is harmful to the body, and moderate exercise is good for health. So, how many steps per day is appropriate?
In March 2022, Amanda Paluch and others from the University of Massachusetts Amherst published a paper titled: Daily steps and all-cause mortality: a meta- Paper analyzing 15 international cohorts.
The meta-analysis, which involved 15 studies (nearly 50,000 people from four continents), showed that as the number of steps per day increased, the risk of premature death gradually decreased until it leveled off. For those over 60 years old, the risk of premature death began to stabilize at 6,000-8,000 steps per day, and for adults under 60, the risk of premature death began to stabilize at 8,000-10,000 steps per day. That is, there is no additional benefit in extending life beyond these two values.
The study also found that this change in the risk of premature death was only related to the total number of steps per day, not walking speed, so taking a few more steps a day, regardless of speed, could help reduce the risk of premature death. extend your life.
In September 2021, Amanda Paluch and others published a paper in JAMA Network Open, a sub-journal of JAMA, pointing out that walking 7,000 steps a day in middle age can maintain arterial health and reduce the risk of death by up to 70%. The study shows that taking less than 10,000 steps a day is enough to prevent serious heart disease and its complications, and that walking more does not further reduce the risk.
In this "Lancet Public Health" paper, Amanda Paluch and others combined data from 15 studies that investigated the impact of daily steps on all-cause mortality in adults over 18 years old, involving nearly 50,000 people. people. The research team divided these people into four groups based on the average number of steps per day. The lowest step number group averaged 3,500 steps per day, followed by 5,800 steps, 7,800 steps, and the highest step number group was 10,900 steps. Compared with the lowest step count group, the three higher step count groups had a 40%-53% lower risk of all-cause death.
The analysis showed that as the number of steps per day increased, the risk of premature death gradually decreased until it stabilized. For those over 60 years old, the risk of premature death began to stabilize at 6,000-8,000 steps per day, and for adults under 60, the risk of premature death began to stabilize at 8,000-10,000 steps per day. That is, there is no additional benefit in extending life beyond these two values.
Amanda Paluch said that this paper validates and expands previous research conclusions, showing that taking a few more steps every day is good for health, can reduce the risk of death, and extend life. For people of different ages, the number of steps to achieve optimal benefits is different.
The study also found that this change in the risk of premature death was only related to the total number of steps per day, not walking speed, so taking a few more steps a day, regardless of speed, could help reduce the risk of premature death. extend your life.
