No matter how much of your remaining time you spend sitting, up to about 10,000 steps at a time, each additional step reduces your risk of death and cardiovascular (heart) disease (CVD), according to a study published online. A large-scale study has been reported. British Journal of Sports Medicine.

Some previous studies have shown that higher steps per day are associated with lower levels of death and CVD, while higher levels of sedentary behavior are associated with an increased risk of CVD and death. There are also studies that show that it is related.

However, none of these studies investigated whether high levels of physical activity may offset or reduce the high risk of death and cardiovascular disease associated with sedentary time.

To address this, the authors of this new study, led by the Charles Perkins Center at the University of Sydney in Australia, looked at 72,174 people (average age 61 years; (58% women) accessed data. They wore an accelerometer device on his wrist for seven days to measure physical activity.

Accelerometer data was used to estimate daily steps and sedentary behavior, or time spent sitting or lying down during waking hours.

Participants’ median daily step count was 6,222 steps per day.

The reference point for assessing the impact of increased step count on mortality and cardiovascular disease events was 2,200 steps per day, or a minimum of 5% of daily steps among all participants.

The median time spent sitting was 10.6 hours per day, so study participants who sat for more than 10.5 hours per day were considered sedentary, whereas those who sat for less than 10.5 hours per day participants were considered to spend less time sitting.

Reduce risk

During a mean follow-up period of 6.9 years, there were 1,633 deaths and 6,190 CVD events.

After considering other potentially influencing factors, the authors calculated that the optimal daily step count to prevent increased sedentary time is between 9,000 and 10,000 steps per day. Did.

This reduced the risk of death by 39% and the risk of CVD events by 21%.

In both cases, half of the benefits were achieved between 4,000 and 4,500 steps per day.

Because this is an observational study, it cannot prove causation.

Additionally, although the large sample size and long follow-up reduced the risk of bias, the authors acknowledge that other unmeasured factors may have influenced the results.

The researchers added that step counts and sedentary time were obtained at a single point in time, which could also lead to bias.

Nevertheless, the researchers concluded that: “Steps above the threshold of 2,200 steps per day, both short and long sedentary periods, were associated with lower mortality (death) and a lower risk of developing CVD.

“Taking 9,000 to 10,000 steps per day optimally reduced the risk of death and developing CVD in sedentary participants.

“The minimum threshold associated with significant reductions in mortality and CVD risk was between 4,000 and 4,500 steps per day.”

They further added, “Our positive results support related research that can be used to strengthen public health messages and inform first-generation guidelines on device-based physical activity and sedentary behavior.” It will provide results, which will likely include specific recommendations for daily walking.”