The more physical activity you do, the better you live! Long walks, gym, any other kind of activity is better than inactivity. Yes, there is a dilemma about the number of steps you need to take to "honor" your heart and your lifespan.
Scientists say that walking just 4,000 steps a day, less than half of the recommended 10,000 steps, is enough to extend your life. This is the conclusion of the study published in the European Journal of Cardiology.
The study shows that every additional 1,000 steps over 4,000 reduces the risk of premature death by 15%. This study analyzed 225,000 people with an average age of about 64 years, some of whom were in good health and others with risk factors for cardiovascular disease. People were tracked for seven years.
After analyzing the data, the researchers determined that the risk of mortality drops significantly the more people walk. They didn't find a point at which extra activity stops being beneficial, up to 20,000 steps a day.
They concluded that a massive number of daily steps are not needed to improve health. The risk of death from any cause began to drop sharply after study participants passed a threshold of about 4,000 steps per day. The threshold was even lower, about 2,500 steps per day in cases of risk of death from cardiovascular disease.
People over the age of 60 saw about a 42% reduction in mortality risk when they walked between 6,000 and 10,000 steps a day, while those younger than 60 saw a roughly 49% reduction when they walked between 7,000 and 13,000 steps a day.
The conclusion? A little bit of movement a day is better than nothing!
