A recent study revealed that walking between 6,000 and 9,000 steps per day is tied to a noticeably lower risk of cardiovascular disease in older adults.
A new study suggests that walking between 6,000 and 9,000 steps per day can significantly reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease(CVD) in people over 60. The findings were published in the journal Circulation. This study focuses on the risk of CVD. The Steps for Health Collaborative is led by Dr. Amanda Paluch of the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Researchers discovered that people who walked between 6,000 and 9,000 steps per day had a 40% to 50% lower risk of cardiovascular disease. This includes heart attacks and strokes, when compared to people who walked 2,000 steps per day.
Elderly with a daily step count of 6,000+ have a lower risk of CVD:
The new study presents the findings of a meta-analysis of eight prospective studies. Also, it involved 20,152 people from the United States and 42 other countries. Their average age was 63.2 years, plus or minus 12.4 years, with women constituting 52%.
Data from over 20,000 people in the United States and 42 other countries were analysed in the study. Tracking one’s daily step counts without a fitness tracking device is simple. Each additional 1,000 steps taken per day reduces cardiovascular risk greatly. This is especially for people who currently walk less than 3,000 steps per day.
The greatest drop in CVD risk would happen in people who presently walk between 2,000 and 3,000 steps per day.
Myth of 10,000 steps per day:
Dr. Paluch noted that for those who already walk 7,000 steps per day, the improvement would be less dramatic but still meaningful.
The study discovered that for every 1,000 steps taken, the risk of CVD decreased continuously. The study discovered a marked decrease in CVD risk for people who walked up to 15,000 steps per day.
Dr. Paluch stated that her analysis provides no insights into the potential benefits of taking more than 15,000 steps per day because the original studies did not go any higher than that.
People who want to reduce their risk of CVD should set goals that feel more realistic than the commonly cited 10,000-steps-a-day target. The 10,000 steps one is not based on scientific research.
The study discovered no link between increasing one’s steps and lowering CVD risk in younger adults. This is not surprising as CVD is mainly a disease of the elderly. Only 4.2% of younger adults had subsequent CVD events, compared to 9.5% of older adults.
This is not to say that younger adults should not exercise for cardiovascular health.
Parvathy Sukumaran 
