News: For women and men who are not very active? No.
Researchers tracked the step volume and step intensity of 16,741 women with an average age of 72 … and then followed up, on average, for 4 years (the researchers are continuing to follow these women).
Women who averaged about 4,400 to 7,500 steps per day “had lower mortality rates” than those who took fewer steps. Walking faster or slower did not appear to impact mortality rates.
Does this absolutely prove “that walking more helps people live longer”?
No, though researchers did account for many lifestyle and health factors (health status, age, diet, etc.) in this study that could have impacted the findings.
So, what do these results mean?
“The results likely apply to all individuals who are not very active, including men and younger women.” “Step more–even a modest number of steps [per day] is associated with lower mortality.” “All steps count”–it does not only have to take place during formal exercise. And, “there is no harm” in going to 10,000 steps or more per day; “there may be additional benefits for outcomes not studied.”
Learn more: For mortality, busting the myth of 10,000 steps per day (Jennifer Abbasi, JAMA, 24 July 2019).
And, go to the source: Association of step volume and intensity with all-cause mortality in older women (I-Min Lee, et al., JAMA Internal Medicine, 20 May 2019).
