According to recent research, it is not only the number of steps that matters, but also the walking speed, to have greater benefits. The team of scholars, in fact, has revealed that those who walk at high speed can find greater benefits for health
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According to new research, it’s not just the number of steps you take in a day that matters, it’s also the pace at which you take them.
In nearly 80,000 adults with wearable trackersthe researchers found that those who walked at a faster pace also showed signs of better health outcomes.
The daily goal of 10,000 steps has become a global trend in recent years, but it is based on little evidence and, more importantly, it has been shown that it is simply an advertising thought. In fact, in the 1960s a Japanese company selling pedometers pulled the number out of thin air to get people to buy their product.
In recent years, scientists have been trying to test the lens to see if the popular suggestion actually lived up to it.
Some research has found that after around 6,000 steps, the health benefits of daily walking wear off gradually. Other research, on the other hand, suggests that every extra step counts.
Now, however, there is another factor to consider: the speed.
I study
In two new studies involving nearly 78,500 participants, the researchers showed the importance of speed.
Those who regularly walked at a faster pace or with greater intensity during the day showed a lower risk of dementia, as well as a lower risk of all-cause mortality, cancer and cardiovascular disease than in those who walked more slowly.
The researchers also found that the optimal number of intensities in their group of participants averaged 112 steps per minute for 30 minutes (not necessarily consecutive) per day.
The results come from two studies, each based on adult participants, aged 40 to 79, but one focused on cancer and cardiovascular diseaseswhile the other focused on dementia. Seven years later, these cohorts were re-checked.
The results of both papers suggest that the more steps a person takes in a day, the better for their health.
There does not seem to be a minimum number of steps a person must take or a minimum pace that must be followed to have these benefits.
For every 2,000 steps, the authors found a reduced risk of premature death, reaching up to 11%.
In the dementia study, the optimal daily walking dose was approximately 9,800 steps. At this threshold, the risk of dementia seemed to have halved.
Even a slow walker can have these same benefits, but those who walk faster may have more health benefits, researchers say.
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Source: JAMA Network
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