March 28, 2023 — For individuals who at all times wish to understand how little exercise they’ll afford without suffering an excessive amount of, a new study might need a solution.
It seems that folks who walk 8,000 steps a day a few times per week have almost the identical health-promoting effects on the cardiovascular system as individuals who do that almost every single day.
How far are you able to go together with 8,000 steps? About 6.4 kilometers.
“The study results suggest that for adults who find it difficult to exercise regularly, there may be significant health benefits if they achieve the recommended daily step count just a few days a week,” the authors write.
The results could have the potential to enhance public health with incremental goals, two doctors wrote in a comment published along with the study.
“A popular but controversial concept that has been around for three decades is the 'weekend warrior' training pattern, which involves low-frequency, high-volume physical activity bouts in a shortened period of time,” they wrote.
The recent study shows that the “weekend warrior” approach “can provide meaningful protection against cardiovascular deaths and premature mortality,” the doctors say of their commentary.
In the study, researchers checked out step data from trackers worn by about 3,100 people as part of a giant national survey. People wore the devices for per week. They were divided into groups based on whether or not they took 8,000 steps on zero days, one or two days, or three to seven days.
The researchers followed them for a decade and recorded deaths and data on cardiovascular health.
People who took 8,000 steps on one or two days had a 15 percent lower risk of death over the subsequent decade than those that didn’t achieve this in any respect. Those who did it on three to seven days had a 16.5 percent lower risk.
Mortality from heart problems also modified little within the two non-zero groups: amongst individuals who took 8,000 steps a few times per week, the speed was 8.1%, and amongst those that took that many steps for 3 to seven days, the speed was 8.4%.