See what studies say about how many steps per day – 12/30/2023 – Balance

Walking more is a good idea for those who want to renew their New Year’s resolutions and have a healthier 2024. And you don’t need ambitious goals to start reaping the rewards of this activity. A recent scientific study shows that with just 6,000 steps a day it is possible to reduce the risk of heart disease by almost half.

Emmanuel Ciolac, physical education professor and researcher at Unesp, corroborates this view. “If you can’t walk 30 minutes a day, you can start with five,” he says. The expert adds that the activity can also be distributed into smaller intervals throughout the journey, and goals can be weekly, instead of daily. For him, the important thing is not to stand still.

Conducted through a meta-analysis (analysis of existing scientific studies, without conducting new studies) with data from more than 20,000 adults who used a device capable of counting daily steps, a study published in the scientific journal Circulation followed for six years the occurrence of cardiovascular events such as coronary disease, strokes and heart failure.

The average age of participants was 52 years old. Among those over 60, walking between 6,000 and 9,000 steps per day can lead to up to a half reduction in the likelihood of developing cardiovascular disease. Among younger people, walking also brings benefits, although they are smaller.

The research, however, has limitations, such as having included mostly non-Hispanic white people, which does not allow the complete generalization of the results, and not presenting an in-depth hypothesis of the relationship between walking and the reduction in the risk of the observed diseases.

Last year, another study, published in the prestigious journal The Lancet, found a direct association between the number of daily steps and a reduced risk of death from whatever the cause. The research, conducted in the United States, followed almost 50,000 adults for seven years.

Among seniors, a daily step goal of 6,000 to 8,000 is twice as likely to increase lifespan. For those under 60, it is necessary to walk further to achieve the same results, between 8,000 and 10 thousand.

These and other findings corroborate the well-known goal of 10,000 steps per day, popularized at the Tokyo Olympic Games, promoted by an advertising campaign for a pedometer (step marker) developed in Japan. But experts emphasize that even a little activity It’s better than no activity at all.

“Walking is just an alternative to achieving this benefit,” says Ciolac. Improved health can be achieved, according to him, with any type of physical activity. In general, 150 minutes of moderate physical activity per week is recommended.

Walking may also have a protective benefit against dementia. A 2022 study published in Jama (Journal of the American Medical Association) showed that 10,000 steps daily lead to a reduction of up to 50% in cases of neurodegenerative diseases, and that half of that amount, up to 4,000, a 25% reduction in these conditions .

The research included 80,000 adults in the United Kingdom who had step measuring devices on their wrists. According to the authors, the intensity of the activity is also important, whether in free time, such as walking and running, or in everyday life, walking distances of up to 30 minutes.

“Studies show that those who travel at around 4 km/h [quilômetros por hora] or more has a greater benefit than those that do it more slowly”, adds Ciolac.

Inaian Pigantti Teixeira, professor at Uemg (State University of Minas Gerais), highlights simple measures that can be adopted in everyday life, such as avoiding elevators and preferring the stairs, choosing to take short journeys on foot, or, for longer stretches , use the bicycle. The expert emphasizes that more important than reaching minimum goals is staying active and finding solutions that fit into your routine.