5k, 8k or 10k: How many steps a day do you need to improve your health?
The idea that walking 10,000 steps a day is the amount of exercise necessary to stay healthy is so widespread that the World Health Organization (WHO) has already recommended that number as a goal.
This idea became popular in the 1960s, when a Japanese company launched the first step counter and ran a major advertising campaign at the time of the Tokyo Olympics.
The device, called mempo-kei, set that goal of 10,000 steps a day (about 8km).
Since then, the scientific community has been testing this hypothesis to understand what the goal really should be.
Analysis of the health habits of more than 226,000 people worldwide showed that 4,000 steps are already associated with a reduced risk of dying prematurely from any cause.
Every extra 1,000 steps beyond 4,000 is associated with a 15% reduction in the risk of premature death, the study says, up to the 20,000-step limit (i.e., more exercise than that has no extra benefit).
Just over 2,300 are already benefiting the heart and blood vessels.
Researchers confirmed that walking benefits people of all ages and genders, regardless of where they live. However, the greatest benefits were seen among those under 60.
"I believe we should always emphasize that lifestyle changes, including diet and exercise, which were the main heroes of our review, can be at least as, if not more, effective in reducing cardiovascular risk and prolonging life than medication." , said Maciej Banach of the University of Lodz.
Walking is a suitable habit for "almost anyone" because it is a low-impact activity that is easy on the joints and muscles.
For Pozo Cruz, 10,000 steps is a great goal, but the most important thing is for people not to give up if they fail to meet it.
"Another conclusion we came to is that taking 4,000 steps a day is associated with up to a 25% decrease in the risk of dementia," he wrote.
Understanding that even a smaller amount of walking brings benefits, he says, is comforting and helps with motivation.
10,000 steps is a good goal, but any amount of walking is beneficial.
"People who are not motivated or who are starting to get into the habit of walking should know that the benefits begin to accrue from just a few steps a day," he wrote.
That is, those who are looking for the maximum benefits from walking can set a goal of 10 thousand - but the most important thing is not to stand still.
According to WHO data, insufficient physical activity is responsible for 3.2 million deaths each year - the fourth most frequent cause in the world.
Lack of exercise can slow your metabolism and affect muscle growth and strength, which can cause pain, says Honey Fine, personal trainer and trainer at global fitness company Barry's.
"Sitting for too long can also cause all kinds of back problems," she says.
"We find a lot of this in people with office jobs, where the back is constantly placed in a compressed position, which causes a lot more problems later in life."
Day to day tasks that make people move are already preferable to standing still.
"Tasks like standing up, carrying groceries, washing floors, vacuuming, pacing while talking on the phone – it's all the little things that make us more active that help us burn calories more efficiently" , she says.
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