Research has shown that even mild exercise like walking can add years to your life. But just how many steps do you have to take to live longer? A new study seems to answer that question.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The University of Massachusetts conducted a meta-analysis of 15 studies involving nearly 50,000 people from four continents that offers new insights into identifying the amount of daily walking steps that will optimally improve adults\u2019 health and longevity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The analysis represents an effort to develop an evidence-based public health message about the benefits of physical activity. The oft-repeated \u201c10,000-steps-a-day\u201d mantra grew out of a decades-old marketing campaign for a Japanese pedometer, with no science to back up the impact on health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Led by University of Massachusetts Amherst physical activity epidemiologist Amanda Paluch, an international group of scientists who formed the \u201cSteps for Health Collaborative\u201d found that taking more steps a day helps lower the risk of premature death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
More specifically, for adults 60 and older, the risk of premature death leveled off at about 6,000-8,000 steps per day, meaning that more steps than that provided no additional benefit for longevity. Adults younger than 60 saw the risk of premature death stabilize at about 8,000-10,000 steps per day.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSo, what we saw was this incremental reduction in risk as steps increase, until it levels off,\u201d Paluch says. \u201cAnd the leveling occurred at different step values for older versus younger adults.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Paluch\u2019s findings are reported in a paper published March 2 in Lancet Public Health<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n