A new study has found that walking could help people keep a healthy weight, build stronger muscles and bones, and reduce their chances of developing diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure.
The study revealed that those who walk 8,000 steps twice weekly stand the chance of living longer.
The research also indicated that walking can be linked to a better mood.
The study, which was published in JAMA Network, an international, peer-reviewed, open access, general medical journal, examined data from 3,101 adults that took part in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys from 2005 to 2006, and who all wore an accelerometer for one week to track their step counts.
The study, which was led by Dr. Kosuke Inoue of Kyoto University, Japan, with collaborating researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles, United State, compared their mortality data from the end of 2019 to the step counts.
The researchers found that those who walked 8,000 steps or more a day, once or twice a week, had benefits to their cardiovascular systems, while their mortality rates were almost as low as those who did so every day.
They also discovered that people who walked at least 8,000 steps over one or two days had a 15 per cent lower risk of dying in the next 10 years, while people who hit 8,000 or more steps three to seven days a week had a 16.5 per cent lower risk when compared to those who took very few steps a day.
Dr. Inoue in a chat with Medical News Today explained that the study was carried out to determine the value of a week’s worth of various step goals.
He said, “We started this study to answer the question one of my patients asked during an outpatient clinic, ‘It is hard for me to keep sufficient steps every day. Is it okay to focus on walking only during the weekend?
“Given that a lack of time is one of the major barriers to exercise in modern society, our findings provide useful information to recommend walking even for a couple of days per week to reduce mortality risk.”
Similarly, a Preventative Cardiologist at NYU Langone Heart, Dr. Sean Heffron, said people don’t need to exercise every day to derive cardiovascular benefits from being physically active.
Speaking with Prevention Media, he said, “It’s pretty much in line with what I talk to many of my patients about, because, in reality, the majority of Americans aren’t getting 8,000 steps on any day of the week.
“You don’t need to be a marathoner or even a 5K runner to derive cardiovascular benefit from being physically active.”
Corroborating the findings made on the benefit of walking, a Cardiologist, Dr. Taiwo Ajani told PUNCH Healthwise that walking is seen as a straightforward, low-impact way to reduce a sedentary lifestyle.
He said, “A sedentary lifestyle has been linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular mortality. A sedentary lifestyle significantly raises the risk of cardiometabolic diseases such as abdominal obesity, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, stroke, heart disease, inflammatory diseases and malignancies. Walking can help someone keep a healthy weight, and build stronger muscles and bones.
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