A new study shows that already at 2,300 steps a day, the risk of disease in the heart and blood vessels decreases. Walking 4,000 steps a day also reduces the risk of other diseases.
– It is a well-done and important study that is based on 17 other studies with over 200,000 participants, says Mai-Lis Hellenius, professor of general medicine at Karolinska Institutet.
This happens in the body during movement
The risk reduction starts very early, at 2,300 steps per day, and increases steeply. 2300 steps corresponds to about a quarter of a walk.
– You don’t even have to go through all the steps at once, you can add them up during the day, says Mai-Lis Hellenius.
The reason why it is so healthy to go for a walk is that the walk starts a lot of processes in the body.
– Today we know that tens of thousands of proteins are formed as soon as we move. They spread with the blood and have anti-inflammatory, pain-relieving and antidepressant effects. Blood pressure and blood sugar also drop, she explains.
“Have as a benchmark”
When asked if we can now skip the advice to walk 10,000 steps a day, Mai-Lis Hellenius answers:
– No, it is good to have 7,000 to 10,000 steps per day as a benchmark. This is when the maximum health benefits come.
But the message is not the more steps, the better.
– The message is that every step counts. It is unnecessary to walk too much, we do not need it to have positive health effects. Very high physical activity also increases the risk of injury.
If you have a sedentary job and can’t get away, it’s just as well to do ten deep squats.
– Take a two-minute movement break every half hour and do squats. It gives the same effect as going for a walk.