Regular walks of more than 10 minutes may be more beneficial than the much-publicised 10,000 steps a day target.
New global research, led by the University of Sydney and the Universidad Europea in Spain, found longer periods of continuous walking were more beneficial to cardiovascular health than walking the same number of steps in shorter, more sporadic bouts.
Co-lead author Dr Matthew Ahmadi, Deputy Director of the Mackenzie Wearables Research Hub at the University of Sydney, said people who walked at least 10 to 15 minutes in a single stretch reduced their risk of developing cardiovascular disease by two thirds.
“For the most inactive people, switching from brief walks here and there to longer continuous walks may come with some health benefits,” Dr Ahmadi said.
“There is a perception that health professionals have recommended walking 10,000 steps a day is the goal, but this isn’t necessary,” he said.
“Simply adding one or two longer walks per day, each lasting at least 10-15 minutes at a comfortable but steady pace, may have significant benefits – especially for people who don’t walk much.”
Dr Ahmadi said the study analysed 33,560 adults aged between 40-79 years who walked less than 8000 steps a day and had no cardiovascular disease or cancer at baseline.
“Participants wore a research wristband for a week which measured not only how many steps they took but also how their step count was accumulated.”
He said following the participants’ health outcomes over the course of an average of eight years, the researchers found people who walked continuously for 10-15 minutes per day had a 4 percent chance of having a cardiovascular related event such as heart attack or stroke.
“Meanwhile those who walked continuously for only 5 minutes a day had a 13 percent risk of having a cardiovascular incident.”
Dr Ahmadi said the health benefits of continuous bouts of walking were most pronounced among the least active, for example those who walked 5000 steps a day or less.
“Among this group, the risk of developing cardiovascular disease halved from 15 percent for those who walked up to 5 minutes a day, to 7 percent for those who walked up to 15 minutes a day.”
Read the full study: Step Accumulation Patterns and Risk for Cardiovascular Events and Mortality Among Suboptimally Active Adults.
