NEW YORK.– A new study suggests that take longer walks could have more health benefits than taking the same number of steps a day on several short walks.
Hundreds of studies showed that a greater number of steps It is linked to a lower risk of dementia, type 2 diabetes, and other health problems. But what is less clear is what the best way to give those steps. The new analysis, published Monday in the journal Annals of Internal Medicineis one of the first to study whether spacing out steps or putting them together was related to better health outcomes.
The analysis looked at people who took fewer than 8,000 steps a day; most participants gave less than 5000. Those who regularly walked more than 15 minutes had 80% less chances of dying for any reason and almost 70% less chances of developing cardiovascular diseases over a period of about 10 years, compared to those who took most of their steps in walks of five minutes or less.
The average age of the participants was 62, so the risk of dying was pretty low to begin with: about 4% in the shorter ride group and less than 1% in the longer ride group.
These data show just a correlation; They do not prove that taking longer walks is healthier than spacing out your steps throughout the day. But some evidence suggests that the body needs more time and continuity to fully take advantage of the benefits of exercise for health, such as improving heart rate regulation, said Robert Gerszten, chief of cardiovascular medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, who was not involved in the study.
“We are not saying that shorter sessions don’t work,” said Borja del Pozo Cruz, an epidemiologist at the European University of Madrid, who led the study. “But it seems that it is much better to accumulate steps over longer periods”he added.
The researchers followed 34,000 people in the UK For about a week, they used accelerometers to measure steps and classified participants into various groups based on their walking patterns. They analyzed the data so that the total step count was similar in all groups. The steps of any type of walk were counted; those taking 15-minute walks might have been walking in the park, while those taking shorter walks might have been doing light housework.
After taking into account the general health and lifestyle factorsresearchers found that people who took most of their steps in shorter walks had a higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease and dying from any cause over the next 10 years, compared to those who took more continuous walks. The decline was especially pronounced in sedentary people, or those who took fewer than 5,000 steps a day, Del Pozo Cruz said.
The study is inconclusive about which is the best way to walk. The researchers took into account how people rated their health, but it’s possible that people who took longer walks were healthier to begin with, said Rishi Wadhera, an associate professor of health policy and administration at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, who was not involved in this research.
The study also did not consider the degree of walkability of the neighborhoods, nor the strength training carried out by the participants. And the step patterns were based on a week-long snapshot, which might not reflect someone’s daily habits, Wadhera added.
Still, experts said you should try walk a little further each timeyes you can. Try getting off the bus a stop early, parking your car a little further from the office, or making plans with friends to go for a walk.
“Something is better than nothing, more is better than something,” said Hannah Arem, an epidemiologist at MedStar Health Research Institute in Washington.
“It’s about a gradual increase over time and trying to make those longer periods have more health benefits,” Arem said.
