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A study published online on June 25, 2019, shows that individuals who track their day by day steps are generally more energetic and fewer more likely to develop certain health problems. PLoS Medicine. Researchers reviewed data from two trials on nearly 1,300 adults (41% male), ages 45 to 75. Most were smokers in good health and without heart disease. People took a mean of seven,500 steps a day and did about 90 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity every week.
For the trials, half of the participants tracked their steps with a pedometer for 12 weeks while the opposite didn’t. The pedometer group also received handbooks about walking programs and regular discussions with nurses who offered support and helped them set fitness goals. Some continued to trace their day by day steps after the trials ended, while others said the experience gave them a greater idea of what number of steps they took every day.
At follow-ups (three years for one trial and 4 years for the opposite), participants who originally used the pedometer were taking about 3,000 more steps per day and about half-hour of activity per week than those that didn’t. There were those that didn’t track. They were 44 percent less more likely to fracture their legs and 66 percent less more likely to have a heart attack or stroke. According to the researchers, the most important message is that using an easy pedometer or wrist activity tracker can encourage people to start out a walking program, increase their exercise intensity, and potentially encourage them to adopt healthy lifestyle changes. Can help give. – Improved health over time.
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