The more you walk, the lower your risk of death

Walk to Work Day supporting Diabetes Australia (WTWD) is on this Friday (1 September), encouraging all Australians to walk all or some of the way to, during or after work — with the organisers noting that the health benefits of walking can be achieved with as few as 4000 steps a day.

This good news follows a recent analysis of 17 studies, comprising 226,889 relatively healthy participants, led by the Medical Academy of Lodz. The meta-analysis, published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, is the first not only to assess the effect of walking up to 20,000 steps a day, but also to look at whether there are any differences depending on age, sex or where in the world people live.

The results found that walking at least 3867 steps a day started to reduce the risk of dying from any cause, and 2337 steps a day reduced the risk of dying from diseases of the heart and blood vessels (cardiovascular disease). An increase of 1000 steps a day was associated with a 15% reduction in the risk of dying from any cause, and an increase of 500 steps a day was associated with a 7% reduction in dying from cardiovascular disease. If people walked as many as 20,000 steps a day, the health benefits continued to increase. The researchers have not found an upper limit yet.

“Our study confirms that the more you walk, the better,” said study co-leader Professor Maciej Banach, from the Medical University of Lodz. “We found that this applied to both men and women, irrespective of age, and irrespective of whether you live in a temperate, subtropical or subpolar region of the world, or a region with a mixture of climates.”

Senior author Dr Ibadete Bytyçi, from the University of Prishtina, added, “Until now, it’s not been clear what is the optimal number of steps, both in terms of the cut-off points over which we can start to see health benefits, and the upper limit, if any, and the role this plays in people’s health. However, I should emphasise that there were limited data available on step counts up to 20,000 a day, and so these results need to be confirmed in larger groups of people.”

The studies analysed by the researchers followed up participants for a median of seven years. In people aged 60 years or older, the size of the reduction in risk of death was smaller than that seen in people aged younger than 60 years. In the older adults, there was a 42% reduction in risk seen in those who walked between 6000 and 10,000 steps a day, while there was a 49% reduction in risk in younger adults who walked between 7000 and 13,000 steps a day.

“In a world where we have more and more advanced drugs to target specific conditions such as cardiovascular disease, I believe we should always emphasise that lifestyle changes, including diet and exercise … might be at least as, or even more, effective in reducing cardiovascular risk and prolonging lives,” Banach said.

“We still need good studies to investigate whether these benefits may exist for intensive types of exertion, such as marathon running and Ironman challenges, and in different populations of different ages, and with different associated health problems. However, it seems that, as with pharmacological treatments, we should always think about personalising lifestyle changes.”

Hayley Nicholson, an accredited exercise physiologist and diabetes educator, is a big supporter of regular walking as one of the habits that enable us to live long and healthy lives, noting that a 2020 study endorsed walking as therapy for type 2 diabetes as it improves glucose control as well as many other benefits relevant to the condition.

“We’ve known for a long time that regular walking helps to keep blood glucose levels in a healthy range,” Nicholson said.

“The latest research shows that walking can [not only] reduce complications, including reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease, but it can also alleviate conditions such as diabetic neuropathy (nerve damage which can cause pain, burning, tingling or numbness in the toes or feet).

“Start with a 5- to 10-minute walk and build from there. The key is doing them regularly. It’s easy to look up and realise you’ve been sitting in the same position for three or four hours, especially if you’re like many of us working from home these days.”

WTWD is an initiative of the Pedestrian Council of Australia, with CEO Harold Scruby noting that the standard target of 10,000 steps per day can be daunting for those who struggle to find the time to get out for longer walks during the day.

“We’ve been told that under 5000 steps per day is considered sedentary; however, this new study highlights that walking fewer steps still has significant health benefits,” Scruby said.

“This is tremendous news for people who are just getting started or need to factor in more realistic physical goals based on their personal circumstances. No more excuses — step into spring, put your feet first and join the walking class. A simple daily short walk could change your life and you can get started this Friday on Walk to Work Day.”

Image credit: iStock.com/nycshooter