We all know that regular physical activity, more or less intense, can bring numerous benefits to physical and mental health. This is demonstrated by many studies that suggest that this is capable of increasing life expectancy by reducing the risk of diseases, including cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes and various cancers. Precisely for this reason, experts recommend 10,000 steps per day, a goal that can be easily monitored today thanks to the increasingly popular fitness trackers or wearables. However, while this goal is widely promoted as optimal for overall health, it is not based on scientific evidence, but stems from a marketing campaign by the Yamasa Clock and Instrument Company Japanese born to launch a pedometer called “Manpo-kei“(which translates to” 10,000 steps “) created on the occasion of the Tokyo Olympics in 1964. To date, there are no WHO-recognized public health guidelines that recommend a specific number of steps per day to improve health. There are studies based on daily monitoring of steps in real life – previous research has, in fact, monitored physical activity for short periods of time using laboratory devices and observing health results years or even decades later.
But now a research team of the Vanderbilt University Medical Center (Nashville, USA) conducted the first ever study investigating the association between physical activity and the onset of chronic disease, based on everyday activity tracking devices commonly used in real life. The results showed that taking more steps a day can really reduce the risk of developing certain types of diseases, such as obesity, diabetes, hypertension, gastroesophageal reflux, depression and sleep apnea. The research was published in Nature Medicine.
I study
The new research was able to analyze years of daily activity data of 6,042 participants (73% female) with an average age of 57 and slightly overweight, collected from devices worn by participants and linked to folders. electronic clinics (EHR). Participants were monitored through the Fitbit, a sports tracker they wore for about 10 hours a day, for a period of 4 years, during which they walked between 6,000 and 10,000 steps a day. The count and intensity of daily steps (defined as steps per minute) were then compared with disease incidence within the group and compared with disease rates in the general population. “These data – said the researchers – provide new empirical evidence of activity levels associated with chronic disease risk and suggest that the integration of commercial data from wearable devices into the EHR can be invaluable in supporting clinical care.”
8000-9000 steps per day reduce the risk of many chronic diseases
The results showed that as the steps increased, the risk of many chronic diseases decreased. Specifically, approximately 8,000-9,000 steps appear to reduce the risk of many conditions including obesity, sleep apnea, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), and depressive disorder. The researchers also found that overweight people who increased their daily steps from 6,000 to 11,000 were 64% less likely to become obese than those who maintained the same number of daily steps. While these statistics do not show a direct cause-and-effect relationship (there are many other factors involved as well), the association is strong enough to indicate that taking more steps each day by increasing the intensity can reduce the risk of disease.
Going beyond this range has no additional benefits for diabetes and hypertension
The researchers also noted that going beyond this range (8,000-9,000 steps per day) could have other benefits, but it does not reduce the risk of hypertension and diabetes. In fact, the researchers noted that once individuals had reached around 8,000-9,000 steps per day, the relative benefits of reducing the risk of these hypertension and diabetes stabilized. “The fact that we were able to detect solid associations between steps and incident disease in this sample suggests that even stronger associations may exist in a more sedentary population.”
“While validation in a more diverse sample is needed,” said the researchers, “these results provide a real evidence base for clinical guidance on activity levels needed to reduce disease risk.”
Walking or running: what is the right speed to reduce cardiovascular risk
What should be the speed of the step
Another research from the University of Sydney and the University of Southern Denmark suggests just how important step speed is too: a faster step can provide additional benefits, outweighing the benefits of total daily steps. In fact, the study showed that those who regularly walk at a faster pace or with greater intensity, sometimes during the day, have a lower risk of all-cause mortality, dementia, cancer and cardiovascular disease, compared to to those who walk slower.
The results of these studies suggest that physical activity guidelines should also include daily steps routines to be monitored with wearable devices, in order to prevent chronic disease.