A Measure of Reduced Mortality through Increased Exercise
Researchers find an association between reduced mortality and increased daily walking distance in a long-term study that used pedometers to measure participant activity. The 10,000 steps mentioned as a reference point sums to about five miles of walking, taking an hour to an hour and a half depending on pace, which might be considered in the context of recent work on the dose-response curve for exercise. It has been suggested that the present health body recommendations of half an hour a day are too low, and doubling that level is worth it from the point of view of additional gains.
A study finds that an increase in the number of steps walked each day has a direct correlation with long term mortality. This was the first time research had been able to make the link between exercise, measured directly through pedometers, and reduced mortality over time in people who appeared healthy at the outset. "Inactivity is a major public health problem, with conditions like obesity costing the economy tens of billions of dollars every year. This shows more clearly than before that the total amount of activity also affects life expectancy. Previous research measured physical activity by questionnaire only, but these results are more robust and give us greater confidence that we can prevent death from major diseases by being more active. This study should greatly encourage individuals to ensure they do regular exercise and prompt governments to create more opportunities for physical activity in communities."The study monitored 3,000 Australians over 15 years. "The participants were given pedometers and data was collected at the beginning and again approximately five years later during the trial to measure the number of steps they took each day. Participants were an average age of 58.8 years old at commencement and the major end point was death due to any cause." A sedentary person who increased his or her steps from 1,000 to 10,000 per day had a 46% lower mortality risk. A sedentary person who increased his or her steps to 3,000 per day, five days a week had a 12% reduction in death. The association between daily steps and mortality was largely independent of factors such as Body Mass Index (BMI) and smoking.
Link: http://www.georgeinstitute.org/media-releases/more-steps-a-day-keep-the-doctor-away