Just 2,200 steps a day can reduce risk of early death, study shows

Research shows that walking 10,000 steps a day can reduce the risk of heart disease and premature death, even if you are sedentary the rest of the day.

The research was published in British Journal of Sports Medicinefound that taking 2,200 more steps per day (up to about 10,000 steps) reduced these risks, regardless of how much time was left spent sitting.

Experts found that people who walked 9,000 to 10,500 steps a day had the lowest risk of premature death.

When it comes to avoiding stroke and heart disease, people who take about 9,700 steps a day have the lowest risk.

The study, led by academics from the University of Sydney, analyzed data from more than 70,000 people aged around 61 in Australia. British Biobank.

In this study, participants wore accelerometers for seven days to measure their exercise levels. After seven years of follow-up, 1,633 deaths and 6,190 cardiovascular events, such as heart attacks or strokes, were recorded.

The study concluded that walking 9,000 to 10,500 steps a day could reduce the risk of premature death by 39% and reduce the risk of heart attack or stroke by more than a fifth.

The more steps people took, the greater the benefits, although the results also showed that taking more than 2,200 steps per day was associated with lower rates of death and heart disease regardless of how long a person was sedentary.

In both cases, walking 4,000 to 4,500 steps a day would provide half the benefit.

Julie Ward, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, said: “We know that daily physical activity is vital to maintaining a healthy lifestyle and reducing the risk of heart disease and stroke.

“These promising new studies show us that each of those 10,000 steps a day can help reduce the risk of death and heart disease. Even low levels of activity can reduce the risk of stroke.

“We encourage everyone to stay active with 150 minutes of moderate exercise each week to keep their heart and circulatory system healthy.

“This can be anything that fits your lifestyle, such as regular walks away from the computer screen, going to the gym, taking a fitness class or even getting off the bus a stop earlier to increase your step count.”