New recommendations: How many steps should you take each day

New recommendations: How many steps should you take each day

However, the question was whether there was actually any scientific evidence for the recommendation.

From the start, the advice was laid out relatively arbitrarily as a simple message to get moving, Karolinska Institutet writes on its website.

– The research says that at least 7,000 steps correspond to the general recommendation for physical activity behind which the World Health Organization stands, says Eva Jansson, professor emeritus in the Department of Laboratory Medicine at KI.

The new recommendation

Now a new study has investigated it again, reports The Sun.

And in that study, the recommendation was much lower than the 7,000 and 10,000, at least for people who are starting to get older.

What’s new is instead that the most important thing is not to hit a certain number of steps – the most important thing is to take 500 more steps a day than you do now.

We were surprised to find that every extra 500 steps has a significant benefit for heart health, says Erin Dooley of the University of Alabama, who is behind the study.

Reducing the risk of heart disease

The study included 450 people over the age of 70.

The results showed, among other things, that the risk of heart disease can be reduced by up to 14 percent – just by taking an extra 500 steps each day.

“Steps are a simple way to measure activity, and more daily steps are associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease in older adults,” says Erin Dooley.

77% less risk

Study participants wore pedometers on their hips for at least ten hours over the course of at least three days. Three and a half years later, the participants were followed by the researchers to see if they developed any heart-related disease.

It found that participants who walked about 4,500 steps a day were 77 percent less likely to develop heart disease, stroke or heart failure than adults who walked 2,000 steps or fewer each day.

Only 3.5 percent of those who walked 4,500 steps experienced one of the conditions listed, compared to 12 percent in the group who walked fewer than 2,000 steps.

Another way to measure

However, Karolinska Institutet noted that recommendations are rarely given in a specific number of steps, but rather in terms of intensity, duration and frequency.

– It states that you should be physically active at least 150 minutes per week at moderate intensity (eg brisk walking) or 75 minutes per week at high intensity (eg running), stresses KI in an article on the university’s website.

Photo: M. Timberlake

Text: Editors