(Montreal) The well -known objective of 10,000 steps per day offers only few health benefits if it is compared to a target of 7000 steps per day, concludes a new systemic journal published by Australian researchers.
Yes, say the authors, walking 10,000 steps a day rather than 7,000 reduces the risk of death all causes, mortality due to cancer, dementia and depressive symptoms, in addition to reducing the incidence of cardiovascular disease.
However, they specify, “progressive improvement beyond seven thousand steps per day was low, and there was no statistical difference between seven thousand steps per day and a number of steps higher for all other results”.
“The target of 10,000 steps is a very nice target, but it may not necessarily be the target that is necessary for everyone to have a maximum of cardiovascular benefits,” commented François Simard, a specialist in sports cardiology at the Montreal Cardiology Institute.
The daily objective of 10,000 steps has never been rooted in science. It probably appeared in popular conscience (and guilt) when a Japanese company baptized its new “Manpo-Kei” pedometer (10,000 steps in Japanese) in the mid-1960s.
The authors of the new systemic journal have peeled dozens of studies and meta-analyzes bringing together tens of thousands of subjects. They come to three important conclusions:
- First of all, even a number of steps every day is associated with health benefits;
- Then, 7000 steps per day are associated with considerable risk reductions for most results, compared to the reference of 2000 steps per day;
- Finally, even if the risk continued to decrease beyond 7000 steps per day, it has reached a tray for certain results.
General rule, continue the authors, each addition of 1000 steps per day reduced a little more health risks associated with different conditions. For example, the risk of death all caused by those who walk four thousand steps a day was 36 % lower than that of those who walk 2000; The reduction jumped at 47 % when going to 7000 steps a day.
Conclusion, they say: even a number of steps every day is associated with a reduction in risk, and “the message according to which each step counts for those who are capable of it should be put forward as a key public health message, regardless of the specific quantitative objective”.
“This study confirms […] That cardiovascular profits are not only manifested at 10,000 steps, they start before that, said Doctor Simard. It tells us that there are benefits to start moving. »»
Even if a systemic review as this one brings together unequal quality studies and analyzes by default, he continues, the results leave “implying that a target of seven thousand or seven thousand five hundred steps per day could be completely […] In our clinical recommendations to try to get people out of sedentary lifestyle and derive cardiovascular benefits. ”
The risk with targets like “10,000 steps a day” or “at least three sessions of 20 minutes per week” is to send a message “All or nothing” to the population, said Doctor Simard.
When we talk about physical exercise, he recalled, “there is no threshold that allows us to have all the profits at once”.
“The profits appear very quickly from the first minutes,” he said. These targets are given to try to encourage people and demonstrate what is optimal. But I think there should always be a message below that, that long before that, you will have benefits, you will have benefits, and I hope it does not discourage people. »»
The message of this systemic journal is therefore clear, says Doctor Simard: even people for whom a 10,000 -step goal is not realistic at the moment must understand that even “only” 7000 steps will be the cause of health benefits.
The steps, like the minutes of activity, are “easy to measure,” he said, and “it can be very stimulating […] to count the steps and to see the progress during the day ”.
“We must not be discouraged,” concluded Doctor Simard. Do not say that it is 10,000 steps or nothing at all. We don’t waste our time. If I only have time to go for a three thousand steps, it’s worth it, you should not be discouraged. »»
The conclusions of this analysis were revealed by the newspaper Lancet Public Health.
