Walking 8,000 steps, or nearly 4 miles, once or twice a week significantly reduces the risk of early death, according to a study published Tuesday.
While regular physical activity is known to reduce the risk of mortality, the study published in the journal JAMA Network Open looks at the health benefits of brisk walking just a few days a week.
Researchers from Kyoto University and the University of California, Los Angeles analyzed data from 3,101 American adults.
The scientists found that those who walked 8,000 steps or more once or twice a week were 14.9% less likely to die over a 10-year period than those who did not.
For those who did these long walks three to seven times a week, the risk of death was further reduced, by 16.5%.
The health benefits of walking 8,000 steps or more once or twice a week appear even more pronounced for people 65 and older.
“The number of days a week someone walks 8,000 steps or more has been associated [no estudo] to a lower risk of cardiovascular and all-cause mortality,” the scientists said.
“This work suggests that people can derive important health benefits from walking a few days a week,” they added.
For this study, the researchers looked at participants’ daily steps taken between 2005 and 2006 and then studied their mortality ten years later.
Of the participants, 632 people failed to reach the 8,000-step threshold on at least one day of the week, 532 people met or exceeded this threshold once or twice a week, and 1,937 people took it three to seven times a week.
On average, Americans walk between 3,000 and 4,000 steps a day, according to data from the Mayo Clinic, which notes that walking as a regular physical activity can reduce the risk of heart disease, obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and depression.
Source: TSF
