A study on brisk walking and health:
Researchers found that every 2,000 additional steps a day lowered the risk of premature death, heart disease and cancer by about 10 percent, up to about 10,000 steps per day. When it came to developing dementia, 9,800 steps per day was associated with a 50 percent reduced risk, with a risk reduction of 25 percent starting at about 3,800 steps per day. Above 10,000 steps a day, there just weren’t enough participants with that level of activity to determine whether there were additional benefits.
In the past, similar studies have also shown that the benefits of walking start well before the often-touted 10,000 steps a day.
…But then the researchers of this study did something new. When they looked at the step rate, per minute, of the highest 30 minutes of activity a day, they found that participants whose average highest pace was a brisk walk (between 80 and 100 steps per minute) had better health outcomes compared with those who walked a similar amount each day but at a slower pace.
I recently did an experiment where I did an average of over 10,000 steps per day (about 4.5 miles) for over 100 days, and I felt like the benefits were good, and the numbers on the fitness tracker gave me a goal to focus on. I had to temporarily stop for about a month, but plan to start again soon.
Here’s the article:
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/20/well/move/fast-walking-exercise-intensity.html