Srinagar: Doctors Association Kashmir (DAK) on Friday said walking fewer steps a day significantly reduces a person’s risk of early death.
“If you walk just 4,000 steps a day, you can substantially lower your risk of dying,” said DAK President Dr Nisar ul Hassan in a statement.
Dr Hassan said according to a large study published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology on Wednesday walking 3,967 steps a day reduces the risk of death from any cause, while taking 2,337 steps a day can significantly decrease the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease.
For every additional 1000 steps a day, the risk of dying from any cause falls by 15%, while a 500 extra steps leads to a 7 per cent drop in the risk of death from cardiovascular disease.
“That shows the more you walk, the greater the health benefits,” he said.
Dr Hassan said researchers of the study found that adults 60 and older who walked between 6,000 and 10,000 steps a day saw a 42% reduction in risk of early death, while people under 60 who walked between 7,000 and 13,000 steps a day had a 49% reduction in risk.
“This gives us to understand that health benefits are more if we start early,” he said.
The DAK President said for years, it has been unclear how many minimum steps we should thrive for to start seeing health benefits.
“Studies on walking are many, but this one for the first time sets a prescription dose for lifestyle correction,” he said.
Dr Nisar said the study recommendation suits our population. Most Kashmiris are not up to extreme physical exercises. These fewer steps are doable for all.
He said the message of the study is loud and clear. Walk more and sit less.
Physical activity is good for health and a sedentary lifestyle invites a huge lot of health issues.
“As per World Health Organization (WHO) data, insufficient physical activity is the fourth most frequent cause of death in the world, with 3.2 million deaths a year related to physical inactivity,” he added.
