For years, we've been hearing about the ten thousand steps a day threshold recommended by doctors, nutritionists and just plain Chinese manufacturers of smarter or lesser fitness watches. But it turns out that meeting a much more basic threshold is enough to guarantee significant health benefits. We used ChatGPT to summarize the conclusions of a new study published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.
The study, led by Professor Matei Banach of the Medical University of Lodz and the Chikaruna Center for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in the United States, analyzed the walking habits of nearly 227,000 people from 17 previous studies. The researchers found that the magic number at which walking begins to have a positive effect is around 3,967 steps per day, when the risk of dying from any cause begins to decrease. But the exciting news doesn't stop there: Even just 2,337 daily measures lowered the risk of dying from heart disease.
However, the study's findings do not mean that you need to stop at 4,000 steps. Every additional 500-1,000 steps increase the level of health and significantly reduce the risk of death from cardiovascular disease. The benefits accumulate well past the 10,000-step mark, and even at 20,000 they still continue to grow.
According to Professor Banach, "Our research confirms that the more you walk, the better. In a world where we increasingly have advanced medicines that target specific conditions, such as cardiovascular disease, I believe we should always emphasize that lifestyle changes, including diet and exercise, may be at least as effective, or even more effective, in reducing cardiovascular disease risk and prolonging life."
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