Category: Orthopedics
Posted: 8/24/2024 by Brian Corwell, MD
(Updated: 12/26/2024)
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When it comes to walking, recent research and public health strategies have focused on how much you do that helps. This idea frequently comes up in the form of the 10,000 step goal.
A recent study in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that walking between 9,000 and 10,000 steps/day could reduce the risk of death by 39% and cardiovascular disease by 21%.
For both outcomes (all-cause mortality and incident CVD), approximately 50% of the benefit was achieved between 4,000-4,500 steps per day.
Study accessed data on greater than 72,000 individuals (avg age 61, 58% female) using accelerometer data over an average of 6.9 years.
Instead of volume, a recent study in the same journal looked at the benefits of walking speed.
The study looked at pooled data from 10 studies involving more than 500,000 people from the U.S., Japan and the U.K.
Walking speed definitions:
Easy or casual walking - less than 2 mph.
Average or normal pace was defined as 2-3mph.
A “fairly brisk” pace was 3-4 mph
A “brisk/striding walking pace” was greater than 4mph
Compared with people who walked at a casual/easy speed, those who walked at a normal/avg speed (2–3 mph) had a 15% lower risk of Type 2 diabetes.
Walking at a fairly brisk pace (3–4 mph) was associated with a 24% lower risk of Type 2 diabetes.
Walking at a brisk or striding pace (over 4 mph) was associated with a 39% reduced risk of Type 2 diabetes.
Globally, 537 million adults have type 2 diabetes, a figure that is expected to reach 783 million by 2045.
Take home: Consider recommending tips on walking pace and distance for our sedentary patient population to optimize health.
Jayedi A, Zargar MS, Emadi A, Aune D. Walking speed and the risk of type 2 diabetes: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Br J Sports Med. 2024 Mar 13;58(6):334-342.
