On a daily basis, the WHO recommends taking a minimum of 10,000 steps a day to stay in shape, and at the same time preserve your health and control your weight.. However, between a (sometimes) busy working day in front of your screen and the lack of time, they can sometimes be difficult or even impossible to achieve. But one option may prove more feasible: according to a study published in the journal JAMA Network, take 8,000 steps a day once or twice a week could reduce the risk of premature death and preserve cardiovascular health, just as regular physical activity would. That is the equivalent of 6.4 kilometers in the day.
To reach this conclusion, researchers from Kyoto University in Japan and the University of California analyzed the daily steps of 3,101 American adults between 2005 and 2006, then their mortality 10 years later. Result: those who walked 8,000 steps once or twice a week had exactly 14.9% lower risk of dying over a 10-year period than those who did not reach this number of steps.
And for people who did this same walk at a frequency of three to seven times a week, the risk was further reduced by 16.5%. Benefits that seem even more marked among those over 65.
Benefits by walking only a few days a week
“The number of days per week someone walks 8,000 steps or more has been associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular mortality and all other causes“, noted the researchers.”This work suggests that individuals can achieve significant health benefits from walking only a few days a week.”
An alternative to the 10,000 steps of the WHO which could encourage us to walk more, in view of the multiple benefits. On average, Americans walk 3,000 to 4,000 steps a day according to data from the Mayo Clinic, too few to sufficiently reduce the risk of heart disease, obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and depression.
Source :
- Association of Daily Step Patterns With Mortality in US Adults, JAMA Network, March 28, 2023
