Walking a mere 4,000 steps per day has been shown to reduce the risk of death from any cause, according to the latest analysis. However, the study also found that the more you walk, the greater the health benefits. Until now, it has remained unclear how many steps people should aim for each day, or if there is a maximum threshold beyond which health gains are minimal. In order to understand this better, researchers examined data from 17 previous studies involving over 220,000 individuals. The results, published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, revealed that walking at least 3,967 steps daily reduced the risk of death from any cause, while 2,337 steps per day reduced the risk of death from cardiovascular disease. Furthermore, every additional 1,000 steps per day was associated with a 15% decrease in the risk of death from any cause, and an increase of 500 steps per day was linked to a 7% decrease in the risk of death from cardiovascular disease. These findings were consistent across different genders, ages, and regions of the world. The study also indicated that as little as 4,000 steps per day were sufficient to significantly reduce overall mortality, and even fewer were needed to reduce deaths from cardiovascular disease. For younger individuals, the most significant improvements in health were observed in those who walked between 7,000 and 13,000 steps daily, whereas for those aged 60 and above, the optimal range was between 6,000 and 10,000 steps. The study also explored the impact of walking up to 20,000 steps per day and found that the health benefits continued to increase. The researchers emphasized the need for further studies to investigate the benefits of high-intensity exercise and its impact on different populations. Nevertheless, the study reinforces the idea that lifestyle changes, including exercise and diet, can be as effective, if not more so, than medications in reducing cardiovascular risk and extending lifespan. It is worth noting that insufficient physical activity is currently the fourth leading cause of death worldwide, resulting in 3.2 million deaths per year. Before the pandemic, the average daily step count globally was around 5,324, with the UK averaging 5,444 steps. However, due to reduced physical activity levels resulting from the pandemic, global step counts have yet to return to pre-pandemic levels. Professor James Leiper, from the British Heart Foundation, hailed walking as a remarkable wonder drug, emphasizing its accessibility and the fact that it requires no special equipment or training.
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