Research published in leading journals JAMA Internal Medicine When Department of Neurology, JAMA, monitored 78,500 adults using wearable trackers. This is the largest study to objectively track steps in relation to health outcomes.

Researchers at the University of Sydney and the University of Southern Denmark in Australia found that reduced risks of dementia, heart disease, cancer and death were associated with achieving 10,000 steps a day. Walking at such a fast pace showed benefits over the number of steps achieved.

The key message here is that ideally you can aim not only for 10,000 steps a day, but also to walk faster to protect your health. “

Dr Matthew Ahmadi, Co-First Author, Research Fellow, Charles Perkins Center and School of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney

“Our study shows that for less active individuals, even as low as 3,800 steps per day can reduce the risk of dementia by 25%,” University of Cadiz Health.

Key Point:

• Risk of premature death decreased by 8-11% for every 2,000 steps taken, increasing to approximately 10,000 steps per day.
• Similar associations were found for cardiovascular disease and cancer incidence.
• More steps per day lower risk of all-cause dementia
• 9,800 steps was the optimal dose to reduce the risk of dementia by 50%, but even as low as 3,800 steps a day reduced the risk by 25%
• Stepping intensity or faster pace showed beneficial associations with all outcomes (dementia, heart disease, cancer, and mortality) beyond total daily steps.

“Thanks to the growing popularity of fitness trackers and apps, step count is easy to understand and widely used to track activity levels, but few people think about the pace of their steps,” said the University of Sydney. lifestyle and population health.

“The findings from these studies will inform the first formal step-based physical activity guidelines and may help develop effective public health programs aimed at preventing chronic diseases. ”

How was the survey conducted?

The study used data from the UK Biobank to link step count data from 78,500 UK adults aged 40 to 79 to health status after 7 years. Participants wore a wrist accelerometer to measure physical activity over 7 days (minimum 3 days, including weekends, monitoring during sleep periods).

With ethical consent, this information was linked with participants’ health records through several data sources and registries, including hospital admissions, primary care records, cancer and death registries.

Only those without cardiovascular disease, cancer, or dementia at baseline and disease-free during the first 2 years of the study were included in the final evaluation. Statistical adjustments were also made for confounders, such as the fact that people who take more steps generally walk faster.

The researchers note that these studies are observational and cannot show direct cause and effect, but note the strong and consistent associations found in both studies at the population level. increase.

“The size and scope of these studies using wrist-worn trackers suggest that 10,000 steps per day is a sweet spot for health benefits, and that walking faster is associated with additional benefits. , is the strongest evidence to date,” said Dr. Matthew Ahmadi.

“Further research with long-term use of trackers will reveal even more health benefits associated with specific levels and intensities of daily stepping.”