Speeding up your daily walk may have more health benefits

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Many of us routinely use an activity tracker that counts the number of steps we take in a day. Based on these numbers it can be difficult to understand what they could mean for our overall health. Is it just the total number of steps in a day that matters, or is it the intensity of exercise, such as brisk walking or running, that makes a difference?

In a new study that analyzed activity tracker data from 78,500 people, walking at a brisk pace for about 30 minutes a day led to a lower risk of heart disease, cancer, dementia and death, compared with walking a similar number of steps. , but at a slower pace.

The results were recently published in two articles in JAMA journals. Internal Medicine and JAMA Neurology.

For the papers, which included UK Biobank participants, people with an average age of 61 years agreed to wear the trackers for seven full days. This study represents the largest to date that incorporates data from this type of device.

“Tracker data will be better than self-reported data,” said Michael Fredericson, a sports physician at Stanford University who was not involved in the study. “We know that people’s ability to self-report is flawed,” often because they don’t remember exactly how much exercise they did in a day or week.

After collecting this data, the researchers tracked the participants’ health outcomes, which included whether they developed heart disease, cancer, dementia, or died over a period of six to eight years.

The researchers found that every 2,000 additional steps a day reduced the risk of premature death, heart disease and cancer by about 10%, up to about 10,000 steps a day.

When it comes to developing dementia, 9,800 steps a day was associated with a 50% reduced risk, with a 25% risk reduction starting at around 3,800 steps a day. There weren’t enough participants who walked more than 10,000 steps a day to determine if there were additional benefits.

In the past, similar studies have also shown that the benefits of walking begin well before 10,000 steps a day.

Brisk walking offers additional benefits

The researchers of this work did something new. When they looked at the steps per minute rate of the most active 30 minutes per day, they found that participants whose average pace was a brisk walk (between 80 and 100 steps per minute) had better health outcomes compared to those who walked a brisk walk. similar amount each day, but at a slower pace.

Fast participants had a 35% lower risk of dying, a 25% lower chance of developing heart disease or cancer, and a 30% lower risk of developing dementia, compared to those whose average pace was slower.

To put these numbers into perspective, a person whose daily step total includes 2,400 to 3,000 in brisk walking may have a marked reduction in their risk of developing heart disease, cancer and dementia, even without taking many additional steps beyond the total daily number.

“It doesn’t have to be a consecutive 30-minute session,” said Matthew Ahmadi, a researcher at the University of Sydney (Australia) and one of the authors of the studies. “It might just be brief moments here and there throughout the day.”

The important thing is to try to walk a little faster than your normal pace. When it comes to the differences between brisk walking and running, there wasn’t enough data to determine whether one was better than the other, and both meant better overall health outcomes than a slower average pace.

But a 2013 study that followed 49,005 runners and people who walked suggested that brisk walking or running closer distances offered similar heart health benefits, although walking a mile takes longer.

Intensity improves fitness

This study is part of ongoing research into the importance of exercise intensity for various aspects of health.

The latest findings suggest that maintaining good health does not necessarily require a lot of high-intensity exercise, and that a regular amount of moderate-intensity activity, such as brisk walking, can offer a high level of protection against developing diseases such as heart disease, cancer, or insanity.

When it comes to incorporating more intense exercise into your daily life, Tamanna Singh, a cardiologist at the Cleveland Clinic, often reminds her patients that everything is relative. “Everyone is starting from a different training position,” she said.

A fast pace for one person may not be fast for another, but what matters is relative effort. At light exercise intensity, one person can sing a song, while at moderate intensity another person can easily carry on a conversation but would struggle to sing. At higher intensities, conversation becomes difficult, if not impossible.

When it comes to brisk walking, “at these moderate levels of exertion you can increase your aerobic capacity,” Singh said. In addition to the long-term health benefits, such intensity would also lower blood pressure, moderate blood sugar levels, and reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes.

The key is to walk at an intensity that is manageable but also pushes the boundaries of what is a comfortable pace.

“That steady, slow stress on your body is what leads to fitness gains,” Singh said. “If you’re just starting out, this is probably the easiest way to stay committed, consistent, and injury-free.”

Translated by Luiz Roberto M. Gonçalves

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