Forget 10,000 steps a day! Just 4,000 steps a day is enough to stay healthy

it is necessary to repeat the activity physiquephysique good for health. In contrast, a sedentary lifestyle (usually defined as walking fewer than 5,000 steps per day) is associated with an increased risk of death. heart diseaseheart disease or any other reason. Inactivity also increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Due to its high prevalence, this behavior is also considered a disease of the 21st century.^I century.

, The more you walk, the less likely you are to die summarize the researchers of a new meta-analysismeta-analysis on the topic, published in European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, This massive synthesis of 17 international studies is the first to evaluate the effect of walking up to 20,000 steps per day, but it also noted whether there were differences by age, gender or region of the world. RESULTS: Apart from some differences between those under 60 years of age and those older, the results found are largely similar.

226,889 participants (average age of 64, half of them women) were included in the analysis and divided into four groups according to the number of steps they took each day. The follow-up period was approximately seven years.

The more we walk, the better!

Studies show that walking at least 3,967 steps per day reduces the risk of death from all causes. This number drops to 2,337 (steps per day) to reduce the risk of death from heart disease. So we’re still far from the 10,000 steps a day usually recommended.

The researchers also found no upper limit to the increase in profit. When a person takes 500 to 1,000 more steps during the day, the risk of death (from heart disease or any other cause) will be greatly reduced. Thus, an increase of 1,000 steps per day is associated with a 15% reduction in the risk of death from all causes combined, and an increase of 500 steps per day is associated with a 7% reduction in the risk of death from heart disease. happened.

The authors specify that the reference group (with an average of 3,967 steps/day), was associated with a lower risk of all causes than group 1 (5,537 steps), group 2 (7,370 steps) and group 3 (11,529 steps) mortality (48%, 55% and 67%, respectively). A similar association was found between the number of daily steps and cardiovascular mortality.

further study is needed

, However, I must point out that the data available on steps up to 20,000 steps per day was limited, and so these results need to be confirmed on larger groups of people. said Dr. Ibadete Baytisi, lead author of the meta-analysis. , We still need high-quality studies to determine whether these benefits may exist for intense types of exertion, such as marathons and Iron Man challenges, and in populations with different health conditions. ,

Furthermore, this observational study alone cannot prove that increased step count is the cause of the lower risk of death, it only shows an association.