It was a resolution made for the new year 2021, and it had more consequences than expected.
- During the first confinement, the French gained an average of 2.5 kilos.
- Insufficient physical activity increases the risk of death by 20 to 30%, according to the WHO.
- Physical activity is any bodily movement that involves the expenditure of energy, such as walking or cycling.
Chelsea Ritschel is a journalist for the British newspaper Independent. On January 2, 2021, one of his friends told him his New Year’s resolution: walk 10,000 steps a day. Without much motivation, she decides to do the same. “Throughout January and February, I made a few attempts to reach my goal of 10,000 steps, sometimes wondering how my friend could be so devoted to this daily exercise.“, she says in her testimony. After a day of work, often from her sofa, she struggles to cover the kilometers necessary to meet the challenge. In March, she gives up completely.
Impressive weight loss
His motivation suddenly returns in August, after having found his friend after long months without seeing each other. He lost 22 kilos during these eight months of daily walking. She then decides to weigh herself and sees the consequences of these several months of confinement. “On August 9, I completed my first official day of walking with 10,200 steps, when I was immediately overwhelmed with a migraine so bad I had to lie down“, she explains. On the second day, she experiences the same symptoms. “I hadn’t considered the impact an eight kilometer walk in the August heat could have on my hydration levels.” She starts drinking more water and realizes the goal is totally achievable, even for someone who hasn’t exercised before. A month after the start of her challenge, she goes back on the scale and realizes that she has lost more than two kilos, without radically changing her diet. After five months, she takes stock: six pounds lost and mental well-being. “The fresh air and being outdoors has also had a positive impact on my mental health, she specifieswhile the walks allowed me to keep in touch with my friends and family, (…) thanks to long phone calls during those long hours.”
Effects confirmed by medical studies
Several scientific studies have been devoted to the health benefits of physical activity. Last September, American researchers demonstrated that walking 7,000 steps a day reduced the risk of death from any cause by 50 to 70%. According to them, it is not so much the intensity that has an effect, but the regularity. They also explain that the figure of 7,000 steps should not be an absolute goal, but rather that we should try to do it a little more gradually. On the other hand, the 10,000 steps is a kind of urban legend: the figure was promoted during the commercial campaign of a pedometer seller in Japan. In France, the High Authority of Health advises taking 30 minutes of brisk walking, five times a week, to reduce the risks associated with a sedentary lifestyle.
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