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Strong Women
Walking 9,000 steps a day can help you to live longer – even if you’re stuck at a desk most of the time
By Lauren Geall
11 months ago
3 min read
Worried about the health impact of being stuck to a desk every day? A new study suggests walking could provide a solution.
Moving more is one of the best things you can do for your health, which is why experts are so worried about the amount of time we all spend sitting down at our desks.
While hitting the gym after work might help you build muscle or improve your cardiovascular fitness, spending most of the day sitting down – also known as a sedentary lifestyle – has been shown to increase the risk of cardiometabolic issues including high blood sugar and cholesterol, even in people who work out regularly.
The problem is, for most of us, sitting down at a desk is an unavoidable part of our work. But according to a new study, keeping an eye on our step count might be a simple way to strike a happy medium between doing our work and looking after our health.
While we know that the ‘10,000 steps a day’ marker isn’t the be-all and end-all of health that we once thought it was, a new study based on the data of 70,000 UK adults found that walking between 9,000-10,500 steps a day can lower your risk of heart disease and early death. And the best bit? The researchers found that these benefits still materialised even if you spend the rest of the day sitting down – for example, while working at a desk.
The study, published in the British Journal Of Sports Medicine, found that every extra step you take above 2,200 steps a day – and capping out at around 10,000 – reduces these risks, no matter how much time you spend sitting otherwise. And when it came to avoiding strokes and heart attacks in particular, the lowest risks were in people taking around 9,700 steps a day, a total that can be achieved by heading out for a couple of small walks or one big walk a day and making sure to do small bouts of steps at home in between.
It’s worth noting that the study’s participants had an average age of 61, so the impact may not be as pronounced in younger people. However, the research shows how powerful simply stepping out for a walk can be.
Credit: Getty
“We know that daily physical activity is essential to help maintain a healthy lifestyle and reduce your risk of developing heart conditions and your risk of stroke,” Julie Ward, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, told The Guardian.
“These hopeful new studies show us that every single step towards making it to 10,000 steps a day counts to reducing risk of death and heart disease. Even low levels of activity can reduce the risk of stroke.”
She continued: “We encourage everyone to stay active for their heart and circulatory health by doing 150 minutes of moderate exercise a week. This can be any activity that fits into your lifestyle, such as taking regular walking breaks away from your computer screen, going to the gym, enjoying exercise classes or even getting off the bus one stop earlier to get more steps in.”
This is far from the first piece of research which has revealed the transformative benefits of walking more. A 2022 study of more than 400,000 UK adults found that as little as 10 minutes of brisk walking a day can knock a whopping 16 years of your biological age by the time you reach middle age. And we know a regular walk can offer benefits for everything ranging from mental health to hormonal balance.
So, next time you’ve got a spare 10 minutes, consider stepping out for a brisk walk around the block. Not only will you reap the benefits of being outside, but you could even extend your life. Easy peasy.
Images: Getty
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