Walking more every day can improve heart health in older adults. In older adults, every time you walk an extra 500 steps a day, you reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease by 14%, according to a new study. According to researchers, the health benefits of walking start from 3,000 steps daily.
Many studies link physical activity, including brisk walking, to good health. With many of them focusing on young or older adults, the benefits of walking for adults are less researched. New research, however, is exploring how walking can help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Researchers recently found that for people aged 70 and over, every additional 500 steps of brisk walking daily reduced the risk of CVD by 14%.
Additionally, people who walked about 4,500 steps a day reduced their CVD risk by 77%.
More steps reduce the risk
The study included 452 participants in the ongoing Atherosclerosis Risk Study. The average age of the participants was 78 years, and 59% were women. The researchers tracked the participants’ daily step counts using a hip-worn accelerometer, and their cardiovascular health was tracked for a period of 3.5 years.
During this period, approximately 12% of participants who walked less than 2,000 steps per day experienced a cardiovascular event. Only 3.5% of those who walk about 4,500 steps a day have one.
Cardiovascular events include coronary heart disease, stroke, or heart failure. Similarly, in another recently published study, researchers found that 11 minutes of moderate physical activity per day (or about 75 minutes per week), such as brisk walking, walking or dancing, can reduce risk of diseases such as heart disease, stroke. and certain diseases.
The purpose of walking is useful
Although higher physical activity is still beneficial to health, brisk walking may be a more practical option for older adults. Walking is a great way to get physical activity. Not only is low-impact, weight-bearing exercise important for bone health in older adults, but walking is associated with reduced CVD risk factors by helping to control blood pressure and blood sugar levels, reducing weight and help to reduce stress.
In addition, walking is the best physiological stimulus to improve the strength and quality of the heart muscle and blood vessels in the elderly. Walking lowers systolic and diastolic blood pressure, which “reduces the stress and strain on the heart muscle to pump blood around the body.” A decrease in blood pressure also causes strokes to shrink because it reduces the amount of blood flowing through the brain. This research makes a strong case for adding cardio exercises, such as walking, to your daily routine, in the morning for women and in the evening for men, to lower high blood pressure and improve mood.
Daily step tracking
Participants’ steps are tracked by a device, but there are other ways to count the distance walked if one does not want to wear a pedometer. Are you a step tracker or not? It depends on the individual. There is little point in accepting a ‘program’ that you don’t like.
150 minutes per week
In general, it is recommended that you get at least 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise, which may include brisk walking, per week. Like walking between 4,000 and 7,000 steps a day on weekdays, and reaching 10,000 steps, if possible, on weekends. An easy way to do this is to break your walks into small 10-15 minute intervals throughout the day. Also, take a nature walk, known as “forest bathing,” to boost your emotional and mental health.
If we measure walking according to the distance covered, 500 steps correspond to 400 meters.
To motivate the elderly to walk, everything is good. Like using some kind of reminder or incentive to get them out and walking, whether that involves using a phone health app, a wristband or wristband, or Companion Steps. Many phones these days come with apps that track steps.
Can an adult walk too much or too fast?
This study concluded that the health benefits begin at around 3,000 brisk steps per day. An easy way to confirm that the walk is brisk enough: You can say that you are walking fast if you can still talk but cannot sing the lyrics to a song.
One limitation of the study is that there is no way to know whether walking improved the participants’ health or whether poor health reduced the distance they could walk. However, other research supports the benefits of walking. Indeed, other studies have shown that there is no risk of death when walking up to 10 times the recommended amount. Of course, you shouldn’t take too many steps. That is, a sudden and significant increase, than what we used to do. If it increases, you have to do it gradually. A good rule of thumb is not to increase your travel by more than 10% per week. Greater progress can lead to muscle injuries.
