A new study has discovered that by walking an extra 500 steps a day, you can reduce your risk of stroke by 14 per cent.
Lead researcher of the study, Erin E. Dooley, ph.D, says: “Steps are an easy way to measure physical activity, and more daily steps were associated with a lower risk of having a cardiovascular disease-related event in older adults.
“However, most studies have focused on early-to-midlife adults with daily goals of 10,000 or more steps, which may not be attainable for older individuals.”
Participants part of this analysis were part of a larger study group 15,792 adults originally recruited for the ongoing Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study. This study evaluated health data collected from the ARIC study visit 6 (2016-17) to evaluate the potential association between daily step counts and cardiovascular disease.
Researchers on this study examined health data for 452 participants who used an accelerometer device similar to pedometer, worn at the hip, which measured their daily steps. Participants had an average age of 78-years-old.
The devices were worn for three or more days, for ten or more hours, and the average step count was around 3,500 steps per day. Over the 3.5-year follow up period, 7.5 per cent of the participants experienced a cardiovascular disease event, such as stroke.
The study found that:
- Compared to adults who took less than 2,000 steps per day, adults who took approximately 4,500 steps per day had a 77 per cent lower observed risk of experiencing a cardiovascular event.
- Nearly 12 per cent of older adults with less than 2,000 steps per day had a cardiovascular event, compared to 3.5 per cent of the participants who walked about 4,500 steps per day.
- Every additional 500 steps taken per day was incrementally associated with a 14 per cent lower risk of cardiovascular disease.
Dooley, says: “It’s important to maintain physical activity as we age, however, daily step goals should also be attainable. We were surprised to find that every additional quarter of a mile, or 500 steps, of walking had such a strong benefit to heart health.
“While we do not want to diminish the importance of higher intensity physical activity, encouraging small increases in the number of daily steps also has significant cardiovascular benefits. If you are an older adult over the age of 70, start with trying to get 500 more steps per day.”
Researchers on this study note that additional research is needed to determine if a higher daily step count prevents or delays cardiovascular disease, or if lower step counts could be an indication of underlying disease.
