The number of 10,000 steps per day recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) to stay in shape is so difficult to achieve in our sedentary lives, that it is difficult to find the motivation to start walking. .
Also, a team of researchers led by Prof. Maciej Banach, cardiologist at the Medical University of Lodz, Poland, conducted a large study to determine the actual number of steps that should be taken each day to benefit from a protective effect on health. This large study, The Study, published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiologyreveals that walking at least 3967 steps per day (come on, let’s round it up to 4000 steps!) begins to reduce the risk of death from any cause, and that 2337 steps per day reduces the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease.
The more steps you take, the greater the benefits
This meta-analysis looked at 226,889 people from 17 different studies around the world. It also shows that the more you walk, the greater the health benefits, and the risk of death drops significantly every 500 to 1000 additional steps you are doing.
“Our study confirms that the more you walk, the better,” explains Professor Banach. “We found that this applied to both men and women, regardless of age, and regardless of what area of the globe (temperate, subtropical, or subpolar) they live in.”
Should we then go so far as to walk 10,000 steps a day? Why not answer the scientists since they have not found an upper limit to the number of steps to be taken each day. 4000 steps per day are necessary and sufficient to reduce the risk of death from cardiovascular disease, but the more the number of daily steps is increased, the greater the health benefits.
Source : The Association Between Daily Step Count and All-Cause and Cardiovascular Mortality: A Meta-AnalysisEuropean Journal of Preventive Cardiology, August 2023
