Walking the now-famous 10,000 steps a day suggested by the World Health Organisation (WHO) is not required to keep fit and live a long and healthy life. This target is impossible to reach especially considering the sedentary lifestyle most of us lead. Instead, 4,000 steps are all that are required. The good news comes from a major study that was published in the “European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.” The study discovered that walking at least 3,967 steps a day begins to lower the chance of death from any cause and that walking 2,337 steps reduces the risk of death from cardiovascular illnesses. Both of these findings are encouraging.
Maciej Banach, a cardiologist at the University of Lodz in Poland, headed the group of researchers who conducted the meta-analysis. They looked at 17 studies from around the world that involved a total of 226,889 participants. Therefore, The findings have set two minimal thresholds (4,000 and 2,337 steps) to reduce the chances of mortality and death from cardiovascular disease. However, the results have also verified that the more one walks, the higher the benefits are to one’s health. In addition, researchers found that the probability of passing away drops by a substantial margin for every 500-1,000 additional steps taken. According to Banach, the study observed that this applies to men and women of any age, independent of the worldwide location (temperate, subtropical, or subpolar) where they dwell.
