Can walking lead to a longer life?
Many of us can’t go to the gym or participate in our usual fitness classes right now, but we can still go for a walk. And walking is good for your health. A new study by the National Cancer Institute, CDC and the National Institute on Aging finds the more you walk, the longer your lifespan. The article in JAMA notes: “Greater number of steps per day were associated with lower risk of all-cause mortality”. What was the study? Researchers looked at 4840 adults at least 40 years of age who wore a step counter for up to five days over the study period of 2003-2006. Not just any step counter but an accelerometer that not only measured steps taken but also the intensity of the walking. How many steps did study participants take? The average number of steps taken a day by this group was 9124. Those taking 8000 steps a day had significantly lower mortality than those taking 4000 steps a day. Going up to 12,000 steps...