If you walk just 1.5 to 2 km for about 15 to 20 minutes everyday, or 4,000 steps a day, in any setting, you may reduce your risk of dying from any cause. And even if you manage to walk a little more than half of that, you can reduce your risk of dying from cardiovascular diseases.
These are the findings of a study, the largest till date and published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.
The research, conducted by Maciej Banach, a professor of cardiology at the Medical University of Lodz in Poland, is significant because he collected data of 226,889 people, who were followed for an average of seven years to assess the health impacts of different daily step counts. Says Dr Ranjan Shetty, HOD and Consultant, Interventional Cardiology, Manipal Hospital, Bengaluru, “What this study does is establish the fact that the first move you make from zero activity has the maximum benefit and that it is doable. If we divide your exercise or physical activity pattern from zero to ten, then remember that zero to one has the maximum benefit than one to 10. Of course there are incremental benefits, with the study showing that an increase of 1,000 steps a day was associated with a 15 per cent risk reduction in all-cause mortality and an increase of 500 steps a day was associated with a seven per cent risk reduction in cardiovascular disease. But if you commit to the first level of activity and stick with it daily because it is doable, then it sets you on a course correction. Studies on walking are many but this one, for the first time, sets a prescription dose for lifestyle correction like a doctor does for any other pill. It says exercise is also a tablet to be had with whatever drugs you have for your physical condition. So this study changes the perspective of what you need to do.”
This study works best as a recommendation for the Indian population, feels Dr Abhishek Srivastava, Director, Centre for Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Kokilaben Hospital, Mumbai. “Most Indians, genetically and physically, are not up to extreme physical exercises. Broadly, 5,000 steps daily work for them. Many people even count their minutes, usually ranging between 35 and 45 minutes. But by focussing on step counts, which you can monitor on your smart watches, you can walk the perimeter of your house if you cannot step outdoors. This way it clarifies the difference between physical activity (walking, household chores) and exercise (which people associate with a gym). Also the recommendation that if you increase your steps by 1,000, you have 15 per cent extra protection, is new and was not shown by earlier studies,” he says.
