To avoid an early death, you should walk at least 8,000 steps once or twice a week, according to a new study.
- People walking 8,000 steps once or twice a week are 14.9% less likely to die in 10 years.
- The benefits of walking appear to be greatest for participants aged 65 and older, according to the researchers.
- The reduction in the risk of early death is even greater in individuals who take 8,000 steps per day more than 3 times per week.
Here is a good reason to get your bread on foot or to prefer the stairs to the elevator. Walking at least 8,000 steps once or twice a week reduces the risk of early death, according to a study published in the scientific journal JAMA Network OpenMarch 28, 2023.
Early death: walking 8,000 steps regularly reduces risk
To assess the impact of physical activity on mortality, researchers from the universities of Kyoto and California in Los Angeles analyzed data from 3,101 Americans, obtained between 2005 and 2006, as well as the group’s mortality ten years later. .
632 people failed to cross the 8,000 step threshold at least once a week. The objective was reached once or twice by 532 volunteers. The others exceeded it between 3 and 7 times a week.
Individuals taking 8,000 steps or more once or twice a week had a 14.9% lower risk of dying over a 10-year period than those not crossing this threshold. The risk of mortality decreased even more (-16.5%) in walkers who walked at least 8,000 steps three to seven times a week.
Walking and longevity: an even stronger link among people over 65
The various analyzes by the Japanese-American team revealed that the benefits of taking more than 8,000 steps regularly are more marked among those aged 65 and over.
In their article, the authors write that “The number of days per week that someone walks 8,000 steps or more has been associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular mortality and all other causes”. They thus concluded: “This work suggests that individuals can achieve significant health benefits from walking only a few days a week.”
If the Americans are very far from this walking target with 3,000 to 4,000 daily steps, the French seem to move more. According to data provided by the WeWard pedometer app in 2022, they take an average of 6,870 steps per day. The number climbs to 7,735 daily steps for Parisians.