More about Walking and Health

An interesting piece appeared in the BBC's newsfeed yesterday, headlined "Fewer than 5,000 steps a day enough to boost health - study". 

So - should I trim my long walks down to 5k a day? 

I read the intro: "It has long been touted that 10,000 steps a day is the magic number you need to stay fit and healthy - but a new study shows fewer than 5,000 may be enough to see a benefit."

For the physically lazy - this sounds like good news. And the intellectually lazy will probably not go on beyond the intro. 

But read on: "The more you do, the more health benefits are seen, researchers said. Every extra 1,000 steps beyond the 4,000 reduced the risk of dying early by 15% up to 20,000 steps." This is great news! Referring to my fitness spreadsheet, I see that since 1 January 2014, I have on average walked 11,400 paces a day, every day. For over nine and half years. And I'm on target for 12,000 paces this year.

But I wanted more information on this research. Turns out it's a meta-analysis of 17 studies with a total of almost 227,000 participants, making it the largest such study ever conducted. It was published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology. And the lead researcher was Maciej Banach from the Medical University of Łódź. [Link to paper here.]

Below: graphical abstract from the paper (CV = cardiovascular).

The walker's age is important - the sooner you get into daily walking, the better it is for your long-term health. That 15% decrease in risk of premature death falls to 7% among the over 65s. Presumably because they have already avoided early death.

The paper's conclusion is straightforward: "our analysis demonstrates that ‘more is better’ with respect to step counts in both sexes - irrespective of age and the location where walking takes place. In addition, the results indicate that as little as 4,000 steps/day are needed to significantly reduce all-cause mortality, and even fewer steps are required for a significant reduction in cardiovascular death."

It was interesting reading the comments below the BBC's reporting of the story; there's still a hardcore of idle folk who cannot be persuaded to stop driving short distances - despite the overwhelming evidence that walking benefits health outcomes. Out sedentary lifestyles need the physical punctuation of long strolls. Evolutionarily, Homo sapiens has spent 90% of its time as a separate species in hunter-gatherer mode. Sitting for hours at a time is not something we are designed for. 

It was also interesting to see that "This research received no external funding." Well, of course not. The pharmaceutical industry has no incentive whatsoever to promote walking, sleep or healthy eating.

My walk today (13,508 steps), through the woods around Jakubowizna, Machcin II, Dąbrowa Duża and Gaj Żelechowski, returning through Widok and Chynów in perfect summer weather, was boosted by fresh air, hardly any traffic, and a friendly chat with an old guy along the way.

This time last year:
Older, wiser - more credulous?

This time two years ago:
Powerless in Jakubowizna

This time three years ago:
Kilometres of new asphalt for Gmina Chynów 

This time three years ago:
One man went to mow
[out with the scythe on the działka]

This time six years ago:
My father's penknife and airport security

This time nine years ago:
Post-holiday detox diet starts today

This time ten years ago:
Cycle ride up and down the S2 and S79 before they open

This time 11 years ago:
Kraków and back in a day by train 
[The new timetable of 2 September 2023 will see journey times between Warsaw and Kraków cut further - to a mere 2 hours and 10 minutes!]

This time 12 years ago:
Fountains by the New Town

This time 13 years ago:
Old-School Saska Kępa

This time 14 years ago:
The land, the light

This time 15 years ago:
Rainbow over Jeziorki

This time 16 years ago:
Previously in Portmeirion