If you can’t manage 10,000 steps a day, do this instead
Although many people have adopted this technique as a simple way to keep in shape, they fail to meet the target of 10,000 steps a day because they don’t have the time. Here's an alternative:
Woman walking (photo credit: INGIMAGE
Ten thousand steps a day is considered a basic goal for maintaining
health and doing a reasonable level of activity, but even that goal
turns out to be very difficult to achieve for most people, who walk an
average of 3,000-4,000 steps a day or 1.5 to two miles.
The
modern Western lifestyle with many hours of sitting means that only a
minority of the population really manages to complete 10,000 steps a day
or more.
A 2017
study found that only 15% of the US population completes 10,000 steps a
day, and most people indicated that lack of time is the barrier to reach
that goal.
A new study from the University of Oregon tried to see if a
"shortcut" or a simpler alternative could be found that would be easier
for people to meet than the 10,000-step target, and still yield more or
less the same health benefits.
The good news is that they found another way.
The
study lasted about a year, and the researchers found that although the
people who took more steps daily were generally healthier than those who
walked less, there was another influencing factor: speed.
Study
participants who walked 5,000-7,000 steps a day, but at a relatively
rapid pace, enjoyed health benefits
similar to those who walked twice as many. These health benefits
include: smaller waist circumference, lower blood pressure and lower
levels of BMI and blood cholesterol.
(Credit: Ingimage)
Long steps, shorter amount of time
Walking 5,000-7,000 quick steps a day is something we’ll all find easier and more likely to put on our schedules.
Based
on the findings of his research, Dr. John Shona Jr., a lecturer in
kinesiology at the University of Oregon College of Public Health and one
of the study's authors, said they recommend that people aim for a
3,000-step, fast-paced goal (100 steps or more per minute)
daily (5k-7k/day would therefore take 50-70 minutes), or aim for a
cumulative 150-minute (2.5-hour) weekly goal of fast-paced walking.
Divide them according to how comfortable and fit you are, just make sure
you wear comfortable shoes.
This
recommendation is also consistent with the health recommendations of
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which are 150
minutes/week of moderate exercise or 75 minutes/week of intense
exercise.
Fast
walking is one of the recommended physical activities for moderate
exercise, alongside yoga, cycling (at a moderate pace) and even
gardening or mowing the lawn. High-intensity activity includes things
that take greater effort such as jumping rope, running, cycling at a
fast pace or on a challenging track and or climbing.
Walking
fast has several other benefits, too. For example, it improves
cardio-pulmonary endurance and reduces the risk of a variety of diseases
and health conditions such as obesity and heart disease. Most experts
agree that a combination of moderate exercise and intense activity is
the best combination for improving and maintaining health. But if you’re
more comfortable with a goal of 10,000 steps a day, try to do at least
30% of them - 3,000 steps at a faster pace.
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