Exactly how many minutes over-40s need to walk per day to gain up to 11 years extra life
WALKING more each day can add years to your life, scientists say – especially if you’re over the age of 40.
Australian researchers have revealed exactly how many minutes you need to stroll each day to prolong your life by 11 years.
Lots of research has focused on the fact that being physically inactive can take a toll on your health – putting you at higher risk of heart disease and stroke, as well as premature death.
Taiwanese researchers showed that slouching at a desk all day can increase your risk of dying of heart disease by a third, while a US study found that sitting for 10 hours a day “rapidly” increases the risk of dementia.
A team of scientists from Griffith University, The University of New South Wales and The University of Sydney estimated that long periods of inactivity could reduce life expectancy too.
They looked into how to offset inactivity – and extend your life while doing so.
Researchers created a predictive model to estimate the impact of different levels of increased physical activity on life expectancy.
They found that walking an extra 111 minutes a day could increase life expectancy by nearly 11 years.
The scientists based their study – published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine – on activity tracker data for people aged at least 40 as well as US population and death data for 2017.
They found that the top 25 per cent of most active Americans tended to walk for about 160 minutes a day at a normal pace and had an average life expectancy of about 84 years.
Meanwhile, the least active 25 per cent of Americans had an average life expectancy of 73 years.
Researchers estimated that if every American over-40 matched activity levels of the sportiest Americans, their average lifespan would increase by just over five years – boosting life expectancy at birth to nearly 84 years from 78.6 years.
They estimated that even bigger gains could be seen in the least active percentage of the population if they walked more daily.
If the least physically active matched the level of the most physically active they could live almost 11 years longer, researchers claimed.
To do so, they would need to clock up an extra 111 minutes of walking each day at an average speed of 4.8 km/hour.
Researchers wrote: “Our findings suggest that physical activity provides substantially larger health benefits than previously thought.
“The greatest gain in lifetime per hour of walking was seen for individuals in the lowest activity quartile, where an hour’s walk could add an impressive six hours to life.”
The truth about 10,000 steps a day
By Alice Fuller, Senior Health Reporter
THE 10,000-steps-a-day concept is floated around as the be-all and end-all of optimal physical health.
But in reality, the “magic” number might actually be significantly less.
Dr John Schuna, of Oregon State University, who has studied the topic in detail, said: “Despite a widespread desire within the public health community to formalise ‘steps per day’ guidelines, there has been an insufficient body of evidence from which we could derive such recommendations.”
In fact, researchers at the Medical University of Lodz in Poland and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in the US found that fewer than 4,000 steps a day was enough to ward off premature death, and fewer than 3,000 would keep your heart and blood vessels in decent shape.
What’s more, research by Harvard Medical School found 4,400 may be more than enough to live a long, healthy life.
It turns out the ‘10,000’ idea stems from a 1960s Tokyo Olympics campaign to flog a new pedometer; hugely popular at the time, it appears to have stuck.
But according to Dr Schuna, it is actually better to ditch the idea of daily strides altogether and instead focus on movement more generally.
He says: “It’s not to say that 10,000 steps a day is not a good goal, as most people who achieve this will meet the current recommendation of 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity per week, but fitness trackers that monitor step counts don’t tell us how intense that exercise was.
“For instance, two people might both average an accumulated 5,000 steps a day — one spread evenly over a 16-hour period, the other condensed into a brisk 2.5-hour walk.
“Despite the totals being equivalent, the second individual will yield far greater health benefits because they are engaging in some moderate or higher-intensity activity.”
The benefits of opting for the latter approach? Not only will you lower your chances of type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity, you’ll also have a reduced risk of cardiovascular problems and premature death, Dr Schuna adds.
London GP Dr Zoe Watson says: “The 10,000 figure is rather arbitrary in all honesty, and not based on any scientific evidence.
“It has been latched on to because it’s memorable and easy to use as a benchmark — much like our five-a-day fruit and veg consumption and eight hours of sleep at night.
“While it might give us a sense of control and help us to stick to a routine, it can pile on the pressure and make us feel inadequate if we don’t meet it.
“That is just totally counterproductive. Some common sense is needed — any body movement is a good thing.
“Every human has different genetics, social circumstances, and lived lives, so predicting how many steps will reduce their risk of heart disease or stroke is virtually impossible.
“Forget the number. Just do what brings you joy and raises your heart rate a bit.”
The study was observational, meaning it can’t establish cause and effect.
Researchers also noted that their predictive model could have underestimated or overestimated the benefits of physical activity because of the data they used.
But they said promoting exercise and the creating living environments that foster physical activity could result in large gains in life expectancy.
They did note that increasing physical activity at the population level is a complex task.
“Infrastructure measures that encourage active transport, walk-able neighbourhoods, as well as green spaces might be promising approaches to increase physical activity and resultant healthy life expectancy at the population level,” researchers suggested.
The benefits of walking
Running does indeed burn more calories than walking, but don’t discount the health benefits of a stroll.
According to James Barr, personal trainer at Fitness First, walking may be far more beneficial for most people.
Here’s a few reasons why:
- It improves overall physical health
- It boosts mental clarity and focus
- It slashes stress and boosts mood
- It’s easier on the knees
- It can around 100 to 200 calories – done briskly
Read more of Sun Health’s rundown of walking vs. running here.