Staying active and moving throughout the day is important at any age, but especially over 50, when regular exercise is key for helping prevent sarcopenia and supporting bone health. Walking is one of the best exercises for people over 50—it’s low-impact, convenient, and can be modified according to ability and endurance.
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While 10,000 is the number commonly touted as ideal for health and wellness, it turns out you don’t need anywhere near that number of steps a day. A study from Brigham and Women's Hospital found that taking as few as 4,400 steps a day was associated with significant health benefits and a lower risk of death, with the risk decreasing with more steps, leveling off at 7,500 steps a day.
"Taking 10,000 steps a day can sound daunting. But we find that even a modest increase in steps taken is tied to significantly lower mortality in older women," says I-Min Lee, MBBS, ScD, an epidemiologist in the Division of Preventive Medicine at the Brigham, via Science Daily. "Our study adds to a growing understanding of the importance of physical activity for health, clarifies the number of steps related to lower mortality and amplifies the message: Step more -- even a little more is helpful."
Exercise is important for more than just physical health in the short term—studies show people who live in the Blue Zones move throughout the day. Even a brisk one-hour walk can make a difference. “The goal of walking for an hour a day can easily be achieved,” says Valter D. Longo, PhD, the Edna M. Jones Professor of Gerontology and Biological Sciences and director of the Longevity Institute at the University of Southern California – Davis School of Gerontology, Los Angeles. “For example, pick a coffee shop or restaurant fifteen minutes from your work and make a point of going there twice a day. It can also be achieved on the weekend by walking when you would normally drive. Every year, I take my USC students from Los Angeles to Genoa, Italy, for three weeks. On the first day, we do a walking tour of the city. I then urge them to continue walking everywhere for the duration of the trip. By the end of the course, they are used to walking around the city and realize that they enjoy it and feel better in general.”
By aiming for around 5,000 steps a day, you can build up endurance and maybe get to the 7,500-step sweet spot as discovered by the study from Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
"Of course, no single study stands alone. But our work continues to make the case for the importance of physical activity," says Dr. Lee. "Clearly, even a modest number of steps was related to lower mortality rate among these older women. We hope these findings provide encouragement for individuals for whom 10,000 steps a day may seem unattainable."
Sources referenced in this article
