Step Up to Better Health: Walk Your Way to a Longer Life

The link between exercise and healthy life has been proven over a long period through numerous studies. Previous research reports that regular exercise reduces the risks of cardiovascular disease and metabolic syndrome and even helps lower the risk of degenerative brain diseases like dementia.

However, experts point out that most studies on the health benefits of exercise depend on self-reported data from participants.

The research team analyzed data from 14,399 female participants without cardiovascular disease or cancer. From 2011 to 2015, participants aged 62 and over applied wearable devices for seven days. On average, participants engaged in moderate to vigorous physical activity for 62 minutes per week and took an average of 5,183 steps per day.

The researchers tracked the participants until the end of 2022, conducting annual surveys to check their health status. During an average follow-up period of nine years, about 9% of the women died, and approximately 4% developed cardiovascular disease.

According to the study results, participants who engaged in higher levels of physical activity significantly reduced their risk of premature death and cardiovascular disease. Specifically, the group with the most active physical activity had a solid 30-40% lower risk of death compared to the less active group, regardless of each participant’s body mass index (BMI).

The researchers reported that these results were not remarkably influenced by the way physical activity was measured. In other words, whether the amount of exercise was measured based on the number of steps or the duration of exercise, each method had clear advantages and disadvantages.

The researchers explained that it is difficult to measure the amount of exercise in activities like cycling or swimming by counting steps and that the duration of exercise does not reflect the intensity of the exercise. The researchers emphasized that movement varies individually and that almost all forms of movement are beneficial to our health. In conclusion, the experts recommended increasing the total amount of exercise rather than focusing on the standard of measurement.