If your New Year’s resolution includes walking more, new research shows it’s not only the quantity of steps, but the quality that matters.
For those of us who made a resolution to get more exercise in this new year, getting in your daily 10,000 steps sounds like a good place to start, right? Health experts say yes, but new research shows that it’s not only the quantity of steps, but the quality that matters.
Ten-thousand steps - just about five miles. It’s a threshold that researchers say lowers the risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer, and dementia.
Now, a new study shows those who move at a faster pace -about 80 to 100 steps a minute - have more health benefits. In two recent papers, the researchers followed 78,000 people in the U.K. and found brisk walkers had a 35 percent lower risk of dying, a 30 percent lower risk of dementia, and a 25 percent lower risk of heart disease or cancer, suggesting the pace may be the key.
Yale researcher and author Dr. F. Perry Wilson was not involved in the new study, but he says there are important implications. First, he advises his patients to get up and get moving as much as they can.
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“I don't want people to be discouraged looking at 10,000 and saying, ‘Oh my gosh, if I can't hit that, I shouldn't even try!’ because, really, the data suggests that any movement, any getting up and moving around is gonna reduce your risk in the long-term,” Wilson said.
Wilson suggests people try to get their steps in clusters. Instead of a slow walk around the office throughout the day, build in time to take a 15 or even 30-minute walk at lunch.
Wilson recommends using social media to track your steps and those of your family and friends. Sometimes a little friendly competition can be an incentive.
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Wilson says for those of us who want to know if there are additional benefits to going over the 10,000 step mark, there are no published studies yet because very few people go over that threshold on a regular basis.
Contributors to this news report include: Cyndy McGrath, Producer; Kirk Manson, Videographer; Roque Correa, Editor.
