“The good news is that the more we walk, the more mortality decreases,” assures our cardiologist.
Walking is essential to stay healthy: it improves cardiorespiratory function, muscle strength, metabolism, joints, the skeletal system… and has a direct impact on all organs. By releasing endorphins (the feel-good hormones), it helps oxygenate the brain and prevent cognitive decline, anxiety and mood disorders. Men or women, young and old alike must walk every day to be healthy. But how many steps per day as we get older?
We often hear that you need to take 10,000 steps a day to be healthy.This goal of 10,000 daily steps should not be established or imposed as a dogma.recalls the High Authority of Health in its “Guide to knowledge on physical activity and sedentary lifestyle”. It is better, for the sake of efficiency, to suggest to the person to increase their number of steps gradually (for example, take 1,000 to 3,000 more steps per week than they already do) and emphasize that each additional step taken is beneficial for health. “Beyond 4,000 steps per day, there is already a very significant benefit on life expectancy according to the study recently conducted by L’European Society of Cardiology“, explains Dr. Catherine Monpère, cardiologist and member of the French Federation of Cardiology (FFC).
4,000 steps per day is therefore the minimum to do per day. Ideally, you should do a little more as we tend to be more sedentary as we age.The good news is that the more we walk, the more mortality decreases: roughly speaking, for each additional 500 steps per day, we reduce our cardiovascular mortality by about 7%, and for each additional 1,000 steps per day, we reduce our overall mortality by about 15%.” she continues. Concretely, to have some benchmarks, a person over 65 can take around 6,000 to 7,000 steps per day at a good pace, which represents around 1 hour 15 minutes of walking.
Ideally, you should add to the walk:
→ Balance activities (walking on a line drawn on the ground, stepping over cones placed on this line, etc.) at least twice a week to maintain flexibility and prevent falls.
→ Moderate to high intensity daily living activities lasting at least 10 minutes per day (household chores, gardening, etc.)
→ Exercises of muscle strengthening (moderate load carrying) at least twice a week
→ Flexibility exercises (neck, shoulder, waist, hip, etc.) at least 2 days a week for at least 10 minutes to maintain the flexibility necessary for daily activities.