Continuous walking for 10-15 minutes could help inactive folks reduce risk of heart disease, new study says
Taking your steps for longer periods of time may help reduce the risk of heart disease later in life, new research suggests.
Researchers from the University of Sydney and Universidad Europea in Spain investigated the impact of walking on the health of “physically inactive” people.
The study involved more than 33,000 adults ages 40 to 79 who walked less than 8,000 steps per day and had no cardiovascular disease at baseline.
Each of the participants wore a wristband that measured how many steps they took per day for a week and how those steps accumulated.
Researchers then tracked the participants’ health outcomes for an average of eight years.
They found that those who completed most of their steps in one or two walks lasting at least 10 to 15 minutes or longer had a lower risk of cardiovascular events such as heart attack or stroke (4 percent) than those who took their steps in intervals of less than five minutes (13 percent).
The benefits of sustained walking were more pronounced among less active participants, such as those who walked 5,000 or fewer steps per day.
This group saw their risk of cardiovascular disease drop from 15 percent in those who walked up to five minutes a day to 7 percent in those who walked up to 15 minutes a day.
The risk of death in this group also dropped from five percent to one percent, respectively.
“We tend to put all the emphasis on the number of steps or the total amount of walking, but neglect important roles such as the ‘how’ of walking, for example,” said senior author Professor Emmanuel Stamatakis, director of the Mackenzie Wearables Research Center and physical activity theme leader at the University of Sydney’s Charles Perkins Centre.
“This study shows that even people who are not very physically active can maximize their heart health benefits by adjusting their walking patterns to walk for longer periods of time at a time, ideally for at least 10-15 minutes whenever possible.”
Co-author Matthew Ahmadi, deputy director of the Mackenzie Wearables Research Center and a member of the Charles Perkins Center, said the perceived recommendation of 10,000 steps per day is not necessary.
“For the most sedentary people, switching from short walks here and there to longer, sustained walks may provide some health benefits,” Dr Ahmadi said.
“Adding one or two long walks a day, each lasting at least 10-15 minutes, at a comfortable but steady pace can provide significant benefits, especially for people who don’t walk much.”
This study, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, shows that “simple changes can make a big difference in your health,” said co-author Borja del Pozo.
