Walking fast can help you live longer. Experts say that this speed is determined

An international study published last year in Journal of the American College of Cardiology offers some solid, twisted advice.

How many steps you walk each day, the authors say—but so does your pace. The researchers found that brisk walking was associated with a reduced risk of death, regardless of the number of steps taken per day.

They say that makes sense because moderate to vigorous exercise is considered the best when it comes to heart health. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends 150 minutes of moderate exercise each week for most adults, or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity activity.

This study is not the first time to find that the faster a person walks, the more health benefits they should expect. A 2022 UK study found that more steps per day, up to 10,000, lower the risk of dementia, and that brisk walking can reduce the risk of dementia.

And a study conducted in Brazil in 2022 found that the more daily steps – and the speed of those steps – the less likely a person will have stiffness.

Walking at a pace of about 100 steps/minute, 30 minutes a day, five days a week would meet the weekly needs of moderate exercise for older adults, Brazilian researchers said. A 2011 international study agreed with these findings, stating that 100 steps per minute is equivalent to moderate exercise.

How many steps should I walk a day?

In the 2023 international study, researchers from the Netherlands, Spain and the US analyzed data from 12 studies involving a total of more than 111,000 participants. Among their findings:

• 2,500 daily steps it is about the point where the risk of death is greatly reduced (by 8%), compared to 2,000 daily steps.
• 2,700 daily steps it is about the point at which the risk of fatal and non-fatal cardiovascular events such as heart attack and stroke is significantly reduced (by 11%), compared to 2,000 daily steps.
• 7,000 daily stepsapproximately, it is the right number for those who want to reduce the risk of fatal and non-fatal cardiovascular events (51% reduction).
• 9,000 daily stepsroughly, it is the right number for those who want to reduce their risk of death from any cause (60% reduction).
• Every 1,000 steps is extra dailyor about 10 minutes of walking, will reduce your risk of dying to some extent, although not at certain times.
• Every additional 500 daily stepsor about five minutes of walking, will improve the health of people who do not exercise much.

According to popular wisdom, 10,000 is the ideal number of steps to take per day. The suggestion originated in Japan in the 1960s, the study authors wrote, but there is no data to support it.

Other studies have made similar recommendations, including:

• 4,000 steps daily significantly reducing the chance of death, according to an August 2023 study
• 8,000 to 9,000 steps daily reducing the risk of common diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, GERD, depression and obesity, according to an October 2022 study.
• 4,400 daily steps reducing the risk of death by 41% compared to 2,700 steps per day, without a significant reduction in risk after 7,500 steps, according to a May 2019 study.

The epidemic slowed down the steps

The research comes as scientists begin to realize the full weight of the epidemic in terms of long-term public health impacts. The number of steps people take each day dropped in the early days of COVID-19 — and they haven’t recovered, according to a study published earlier this year.

Vanderbilt University researchers analyzed the daily steps of about 5,500 people for two years before the epidemic and about two years after it. They found that, on average, the study participants took about 700 steps a day after the outbreak – the equivalent of a third of a mile a day.

Pre-epidemic steps were 7,808 per day. The measures after the COVID-19 outbreak are about 7,089.

The average American walks 3,000 to 4,000 steps a day, or about 1.5 to 2 miles, according to Mayo Clinic experts. Those who take fewer than 5,000 steps a day are considered sedentary, according to Vanderbilt researchers.

Is there such a thing as walking too many steps?

There is no such thing as too many steps, according to the international research team behind this article.

“Our study showed that even 16,000 steps a day are not harmful,” co-author Francisco Ortega—a lecturer in sports science at the University of Granada in Spain—said in a press release. the content of the survey. Further risk reduction becomes limited beyond 10,000 steps, however.

But those who are already comfortably hitting 10,000 steps a day should consider a higher daily goal, according to Mayo experts. For those who have not reached 10,000 daily steps, they recommend working towards the goal by adding an additional 1,000 steps per day for two weeks before raising their goal again.

How to add more steps to your day

If you want to sneak more steps into your day, here are a few easy ways, according to the America on the Move Foundation:

• Go get a degree, and walk around the block a little more while you do it.
• Discuss the date with loved ones after dinner.
• Take a brisk walk before your morning walk.
• Start a walking group in the office.
• Volunteer to transport dogs for animal shelters.
• Take the stairs instead of the escalator or elevator.
• Get off the bus several times during the stop and walk the rest of the way.
• Play golf, take off the cart.
• Swimming around the pool.
• Go to a club dance.
• Join a volleyball team, indoor or outdoor.
• Choose a game of tennis.
• Go ice skating at your local rink.
• Park as far as you can in the parking lots.

More on walking and exercise:

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