They discover how many steps to take a day to reduce the risk of premature death

Regular bodily activity is one of the most significant habits we need to acquire in order to improve our health and aging. Staying physically active lessens the risk of diabetes, certain types of cancer and many cardiovascular diseases, in addition to refining the quality of life and reducing muscle pain. A commonly used measure to quantify daily activity is the number of steps, as it is very humble and easy to measure today with portable plans .

There are many studies, each with its own limitations, that evaluate the number of steps per day to obtain these benefits. The most recent, published in the journal JAMA Network Open, indicates that people who take 7,000 or more steps a day have a 50-70% lower risk of premature death. In addition, the authors did not find any association between gait intensity and the mentioned risk .

The study included 2,110 people aged 38 to 50 years, and black and white men and women were included in the groups. Volunteers were tracked using portable electronic devices for an average of 10.8 years, and between 2020 and 2021 the data were analyzed and premature deaths from any cause were examined .

 

Encourage physical activity

"The results of this study may have noteworthy medical implications," the authors explain. "Portable patient monitoring organizations are emerging as personalized medical tools for the prevention and management of chronic diseases. The estimated benchmarks of these devices could be of simple value for monitoring and promoting physical activity. Encouraging walking to achieve essential goals is also a form of activity that is well tolerated by most individuals. "For investigators, trying to encourage more physical activity in groups that do less than 7,000 steps a day is a simple civic health measure that can have good results .

However, the authors acknowledge certain limitations in their work: "observational design limits the causal conclusions of the association of stages with humanity". In addition, approximately of the people who started monitoring could not be included if they expired before 2020 or if they fixed not measure their steps in that year, so there may be trends. In any case, the article brings new evidence that joins a very clear factor: regular exercise throughout life has significant benefits on our physical and mental health .