Study: Walking 4000 steps a day reduces the risk of losing your life

2023-08-10 18:19:54, Shëndeti CNA

Study: Walking 4000 steps a day reduces the risk of losing your life

Park of Germia

A new study says that walking 4,000 steps a day reduces the risk of death from any cause. According to the study, fewer steps per day are needed to reduce the chance of dying from cardiovascular disease, but the health benefits of walking increase significantly as the number of walking steps increases.

Germia Park in Pristina is full of people who hope that walking will help improve their health.

According to a new study, their effort is not in vain. The study, published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, says that just 4,000 steps a day reduces the chances of dying from any cause.

The researchers conducted new analyzes of more than 226,000 cases from 17 different previous studies worldwide that followed participants for an average of seven years.

They found that the number of steps needed each day to see health benefits was lower than previously thought.

Even just a little less than 2,250 steps a day reduces the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease.

"This meta-analysis is the first to evaluate not only walking up to 20,000 steps per day, but also the impact of age, gender, and geographic location on the human health benefits associated with walking."

says cardiology Ibadete Bytyçi from the University Clinical Center of Kosovo in Pristina, one of the authors of the study.

An increase of 1,000 steps per day is associated with a 15 percent reduction in the risk of death from any cause, and a daily increase of 500 steps with a 7 percent reduction in death from cardiovascular disease, the study says.

This applies to both men and women, regardless of age and the climate in which they live.

The researchers, led by Maciej Banach, Professor of Cardiology at the Medical University of Lodz in Poland, who is also an adjunct professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, found that even if people walked 20,000 steps more per day, the health benefits continued to increase. They have not found an upper limit.

Studies have shown that insufficient physical activity affects more than a quarter of the world's population.

According to data from the World Health Organization, it is the fourth largest cause of death in the world, with 3.2 million deaths per year related to lack of physical activity.

In Pristina, a number of people are already taking the walk seriously, insisting that they and their friends are a testament to its benefits.

"I like to walk because it is a good activity for health. I go out twice a day and walk 10 to 15 kilometers. I know many people who had very serious health problems and now because of walking they feel much better", says 61-year-old Sabrie Aliu.

Erodit Hashani, 36 years old, agrees with this assessment.

"I read that if you take 4,000 steps a day, walking or running, you can have health benefits such as reducing body fat. This is my main reason for walking and running," he says./ VOA