fitness study
Even 4000 steps a day significantly reduce the risk of death – but from 20,000 it gets really interesting
Whether it’s going for a walk or jogging: according to a new fitness study, a certain number of steps taken every day has a positive effect on our health (symbol image)
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According to a new meta-study, the number of steps taken each day and the statistical risk of death are more closely related than previously thought.
According to a recently published study, there is a direct correlation between the number of steps taken each day and their impact on our health.
The meta-study, published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology – a study that evaluates existing studies – analyzed data from almost 230,000 people from 17 different studies conducted in Australia, Japan, Norway, Spain, Great Britain and the United Kingdom USA were carried out.
Relationship between fitness effect and risk reduction
All studies were so-called observational studies and were therefore able to show at least a connection between the number of daily steps and health, but not a very direct cause-effect connection, as the broadcaster CNN describes the results.
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While about 4,000 steps per day was associated with a “significant” reduction in risk of early death, the greatest impact on death risk occurs when people walk more than 7,000 steps per day. The people responsible for the study sum up their results by saying that the greatest benefit was seen with around 20,000 steps.
According to the data, the health benefits for men and women were the same in all countries studied. While both the over-60s and younger people noticed health benefits, among the elderly “the magnitude of the reduction in risk of death was less than that of people under 60,” said study author Dr. Maciej Banach, a member of the European Society for Cardiology, interviewed by CNN.
“To our knowledge, it’s the most comprehensive analysis to date. The more steps you take, the better the impact on your health, and each increase in step count by 500 to 1000 steps per day can be associated with a significant reduction in your (premature; Editor’s note) risk of death,” he adds. However, according to the study, anything under 5,000 steps a day is considered a “sedentary lifestyle” and therefore only has very limited positive effects.
Sources: “European Journal of Preventive Cardiology”, CNN