In a study from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, scientists found walking could benefit heart health in older people.
They found that older adults who walked between 6,000 and 9,000 steps per day had a 40-50% reduced risk of a heart attack or stroke, compared to those who walked 2,000 steps per day.
When accumulating more steps per day, there was a progressively lower risk.
Earlier this year, a study showed that more movement, even below the highly touted but unscientific “10,000 steps per day,” was associated with longevity benefits.
The meta-analysis of 15 studies involving nearly 50,000 people from four continents found that walking between 6,000 and 8,000 steps per day was linked with a lower risk of death from all causes among older adults.
In the current study, the team wanted to tackle the less-charted territory of steps per day and heart disease. The results were similar, in terms of the most beneficial range of steps.
While there appears to be a continual additional benefit for those who walk more than 6,000 steps, encouraging the least-active older adults to take more steps is perhaps the most important public health message.
The team says for those who are at 2,000 or 3,000 steps a day, doing a little bit more can mean a lot for their heart health.
If you’re at 6,000 steps, getting to 7,000 and then to 8,000 also is beneficial, it’s just a smaller, incremental improvement.
The meta-analysis of eight studies involved more than 20,000 people from the U.S. and 42 other countries. For younger adults, no link between steps per day and cardiovascular risk was detected.
The team says this is because cardiovascular disease is a disease of aging and often doesn’t come to fruition until we’re at older ages.
Future research involving younger adults and steps per day would focus on the precursors of cardiovascular disease, including high blood pressure, obesity and type 2 diabetes.
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For more information about heart health, please read studies about how eating eggs can help reduce heart disease risk, and Vitamin C linked to lower risk of heart failure..
The study was conducted by Amanda Paluch et al and published in the journal Circulation.
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