@A.Stanton
Wow! You the man (excuse me, or the woman)!!!
So most cultures are not so automobile dependent and walk more, even to the bus stop, or the market. While in Italy when I asked a cop where the bus stop was he asked where I was headed. I told him, and he said “don’t bother that’s only a couple miles way”. Well, it seemed like six miles because I got lost, but my ramblings were far more exciting than the museum.
2
It does seem that the older women who died earlier than others were likely to feel less energetic years before and didn't go out as much or move around the home working on project's. Exercise increases earlier on life and continuing to prevent conditions that would sap energy would probably help more.
2
For all the questions about distance and time and number of steps. Consider this - the average women’s stride is 26 inches. Let’s say the average older lady’s stride is abbreviated to 24 inches ( 2 feet, no pun intended ). A mile is 5280 feet. Hence, one mile is 2,640 strides ( steps ). Walking at a steady, moderate pace - a mile is covered in 15-20 minutes. To be frank, this is not a lot of time or distance to cover. A very rough rule-of-thumb - If person weighs 120 lbs she will burn 65 calories walking one mile. If person weighs 180 lbs, he will burn 100 calories per mile. So, it seems the walking exercise has aerobic and calorie burning value if you stretch it to several miles. Otherwise, it probably gives more benefit to blood/ respiratory circulation, physical coordination and muscle/ joint movement.
9
I'm reminded of my late mother-in-law whose idea of a walk was walking from her apartment to her car. After she broke a hip, she kept saying that that's all she was asking to be able to do.
I just nodded my head. I thought it would be cruel to tell her that if that's what she wanted to be able to do in her late 70s, she should have been taking walks for exercise all along, something she always resisted doing.
7
How cumulative are the steps? If the "sweet spot" is 4,500 steps, does that goal need to be achieved each day or can it average out? If the weekly minimum is 31,500, are the benefits still realized if that number is reached with a few days of 10,000 steps and the remaining days of a couple of thousand? If the benefits from this study are proven for middle aged people who still work, then this is important as many people work out 2 or 3 days a week, when they get the bulk of their exercise.
6
@Josh Silver My guess is that regularity is better than occasional binges. For example, it is known that post-prandial exercise can blunt blood glucose spikes, and that high blood glucose levels have deleterious effects on vascular use, kidneys, etc. It is not difficult to imagine that a shorter walk after most meals would thus have more of a protective effect on average than one long walk every weekend that took the same number of steps and burned the same number of calories. But then again, it might also be that significantly longer walks have some protective metabolic effect that is not produced by shorter doses of walking, such as increased metabolism of free fatty acids. Perhaps that leads to better lipid levels, and perhaps that actually turns out to be more protective.
4
How old are "older women" in this study?
6
@Rose The article suggests most were in their seventies. All I know is that my grandmother, who lived to 98, was a prodigious walker her entire life. She only slowed down in her mid nineties, yet still took strolls even in her last year before kidney disease took her.
7
@MimiB
My grandmother also lived to 98. Never owned a car, walked everywhere her entire life. She died peacefully in her sleep in 2003.
Legerdemain.
1
“the findings suggest . . . that taking more steps is better than taking fewer”
Duh. We needed a study for this?
16
It would be useful to have the number of miles as a measurement. I can guage 1/4 mile more easily than x number of steps. Why not include both?
2
These women’s steps were counted even while doing things like getting out of bed to go to the bathroom, putting away laundry, or emptying the dishwasher. Distance doesn’t come into it. However, based on my own step counter (a Fitbit), I can tell you that 2,000 steps comes approximately to slightly under one mile.
7
@Debbie Thanks.
4
In bad weather I’ve been known to crank up the music, a podcast, or the TV news and walk a repetitive path through my condo for 45 minutes. My cats park themselves on the sofa to stay out of my way.
21
@Louisa Glasson I've done this, and my cat always seems quite confused before getting up on a chair, out of the way, but am more likely to head up to the local indoor mall and do a few circuits.
3
oh, I figured it out. Every day I reach my 10,000 steps, I can have a glass of scotch. I walk to the gym. I walk the dog. Sometimes, I run in place in front of the bar. It all adds up.
24
I am living in a land not my own for about 6 months. A city. I elected to go car-free and rely on shank's mare, public transit and the kindness of strangers to get around and it's a miracle! Admittedly this city is flat as a pancake. And the public transit system is limited. But I'm walking 2.5-4.5, even 5 miles a day - depending on the weather. I MUST walk everyday - 10 minutes to the train, 15 to the bus stop. And, oh my, the up close sights I am seeing! Fantastic.
19
My advice to my clients. (usually the ones I quickly recognize with pie in the sky goals) Be as fit as you can be in this shape, the one you're in now - and stop worrying about being, or not being, at the level of fit in the future. (which you might never achieve!) Its about now! Move now!
Lets focus on what we have to work with now. Not what we hope to have down the road.
Main reason so many people stop their fitness and nutrition regimens. They go in with an idea of their ideal, and do too much too soon, hurt and/or frustrate themselves and say its impossible.
Better to get the 20++ pound body in the best shape it can be in, versus trying to be as fit as as the 20++ less pound body you want, and to be honest, might not see for some time...if at all.
If you cant walk a mile, stop worrying about 5. Focus on that single mile! Lot of good work happens in that mile!
58
Reading this article and the suggested research, which is a self-reported survey brings to mind that one must take such as a learning opportunity and stop with the constant negativity.
I find many comments about the articles as mere projections. Use the article's narrative as another learning opportunity.
I see my own aging parents, my dad will be 81 and mom 76. They do their daily best to walk as much as they can. Have improved their food intake, and drink more water. Thankfully, they have never smoked or drank alcohol. Sure, they are walking slower, and yet, do their best to keep active.
I'm 52 and keep a 7-day a week Gym Schedule. Eat very healthy, sleep 7 to 8 hrs a night. I don't smoke and stopped drinking alcohol as it doesn't match with my current lifestyle and gym goals.
We all have a self-fiduciary responsibility to manage the most important assets we own, our body & mind. I live by such, where I’ve applied my NYU education in Organizational Behavior and P.A.R. METHOD into my everyday life.
Yes, we are all getting older, however, choose how to live that experience.
Keeping a positive holistic mindset keeps the body & mind as fit as possible. Learn to proactively cope & manage the aches and pains.
Be mindful that we are the most important ASSET WE OWN!
Be the healthiest version of yourself as possible. Get out there and walk as much as you want 7-days a week.
18
@Adrian Actually, the article says the results were gleaned from a study which had participants wearing monitors, so not exactly self reported.
6
Just walk, walk, walk. And don’t complain
11
IF you take some steps backwards must you deduct these?
18
Correlation, correlation. Perhaps people who move more are more content, more adventurous, have more interest in life and what it has to offer? Perhaps this is the real causation?
8
@Tricia: When scientists suggest a hypothesis, they need to give a reason for it. Where is your evidence that these psychological traits might affect a physical condition as opposed to the physical activity of walking more?
5
@Tricia Maybe it doesn't matter or is perhaps just part and parcel of why people walk? The article mentions that the authors of the study did their best to weed out intangible factors, but ultimately decided the walking correlation was too important to ignore, even if they couldn't prove causation.
I find a lot of obstacles to walking for exercise where I live -- the weather and my perception that walking around by myself is not always safe. I love my water aerobics classes and walk for added variety, appreciate good weather, combine with interesting surroundings, do with friends etc. but not as primary exercise.
9
@Kay Sieverding
Try Fresh Pond on the border of your town. Always lots of people (and dogs). It’s part of the “heart heathy” walks. There is even a long standing walking club that meets every Sunday. After walking around the pond you can choose to go out for dim sum. My aunt, who is in her 90s, walks Fresh Pond year round. I think you’d like it.
7
My motto is: there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad wardrobe choices. 5 degrees - 95 degrees , rain or shine, the quality of outerwear from head to toe is superior for our outdoor treks.
5
@Oliver What a thoughtful response! I hope Kay sees it.
4
The interpretation of the data presented by this article commits an obvious logical blunder. People in their 70s who are unable to walk even short distances are likely to suffer from a condition (or multiple conditions) that will hasten their death.
Correlation is not causation. Research methods 101.
22
@MC But didn't they that say none of them reported poor health?
4
@MC Yes correlation is not causation.
Little is kown about the population of comparison who may be unable to walk because of premorbid physical abnormalities.
It is helpful for us to understand this when reading material such as this.
Thank you
1
@Jerry Bruns After reading the actual study, how would you have conducted your own study for the same hypothesis?
2
That's the argument for "steps"? That somehow it's easier for the average person to count his or her steps than to just look at a clock? Really? I haven't the faintest idea how many "steps" I take a day, but I can tell you how long I spend doing this or that. I use an elliptical for regular exercise. How many "steps" am I taking?
11
Yet more junk science. The study is based on correlation not causation and there is no control group or even two groups each assigned to a certain number of steps - and THEN comparing. Obviously people who are less fit would be able to walk fewer steps. The implication that the steps lowered death rates cannot be supported and is yet more human-blaming shaming for an incurable condition: the human condition.
18
One option that hasn't been mentioned here (and this obviously applies only to people able to walk) is to do your normal walk but start adding a little weight to increase the effort, strengthen muscles, tendons, bones, etc. Various firms make weighted vests that are friendly for casual exercisers, women, or hardcore exercisers.
If you don't care for the "fitness buff" look, put on any inexpensive day pack, throw some canned goods in, and gradually increase over time (eventually it will probably make sense to buy some actual weight plates.) You'll find that normal walking and moving around becomes easier over time if you do this.
15
Not everyone in the universe has a gizmo that measures steps, and some of us don't want one. It would be a kindness to offer an approximate mile or km expression of your step numbers so that I don't have to google "How far is 10000 steps?" or "4500 steps is how many miles?" Many thanks.
17
I’ve found 1 mile is about 2000 steps.
1
@J.P.L. If you have a smart phone, and many older people do, they have trackers in them or you can download an app. Then you have the advantage of having your phone with you if you fall.
3
@J.P.L. 4,500 steps is about a mile and a half.
Historical trivia: the ancient Romans defined a unit of distance as 1,000 ("mille") paces, which is where the word "mile" comes from. So, it seems that counting steps isn't a new thing.
14
I hike, but refer to ride a bike. Why do none of these studies involve heart rate elevation compared to resting rate?
4
@GiGi The study was based on re-examining an existing study of people who wore monitors. Far fewer people in their 70's bike, though I totally agree it's excellent exercise.
"But intensity did not matter in this study. Only the number of steps per day was associated with mortality, not the speed with which the women accumulated them."
Thank heaven. We've been told too long that we have to walk briskly or it's not even worth walking at all. It's so nice to see this disproved. Now we can enjoy a leisurely walk and take time to smell the roses.
15
I would think that it's not so much the step count, as how vigorously they are taken.
I wager that a brisk as possible mile would be better than a casual 3 miles.
2
@Dave Cushman Apparently not, according to the article.
4
I've said it before. I'll say it again. Nature follows one very simple rule. Use it, or lose it.
So take yourself out for a walk. Try to stay conscious to the idea of using and moving your body as you go about your day. Being sedentary is abhorred by Nature so move about.
All else being equal this should allow you to live a long life; but stay mindful of that errant bus or oncoming car whose driver may be more focused on their smarty device than on the road and you. Just some thoughts worth about that much.
John~
American Net'Zen
15
I go to the gym, do weights, et al, but I’m a dedicated, enthusiastic urban walker who takes long walks primarily for pleasure. I don’t think about the steps I’m taking. (My iPhone’s pedometer does that.)
The only way I can take long, safe walks is to assume that every person driving a vehicle—car, truck, bike, motorcycle, scooter—is driving distractedly. I see this daily on my walks in DC in my relatively safe neighborhood.
Just yesterday, a female nimrod drove by me looking at her phone and talking away. She’s just one of the mindless multitudes that pedestrians face daily when crossing at intersections or crosswalks. I’m talking about drivers traveling both heavily trafficked main streets (for example, in DC that’s Connecticut and Wisconsin Avenues; in recent years, both these avenues have become speedways too) as well as the quieter side streets.
Walking can be both good exercise and a meditative experience. But, please, always be aware of your surroundings, cars and people. Walk defensively. Walk in good health.
When I go visit my wife's family in California my average miles per day drops significantly. Many towns and cities have been built around cars and it makes walking a chore rather than a necessity. Going to work in Europe gets you enough walking according to this article.
22
Personally find California drivers much more aware of walkers than what passes for awareness in Florida. Beware of parking lot exits that cross sidewalks!
5
I guess it depends on where in California your family lives and where you live. When I spent time there, I was able to walk a lot more because of the weather. The fact that the buses ran infrequently and the distance to the corner store was greater helped too. Another factor was there were a number of steep hills where I was staying. Walking in Switzerland must be wonderful because of the elevation changes. Where I live, I have to go to the gym during the winter because they plow the sidewalks (walking through deep snow is an incredible workout) which makes them slippery. And you get the best, sometimes only, elevation change going up and down stairs in the metro stations (22 flights yesterday).
2
@Jimmy As a Floridian, I totally agree. We risk our lives every time we venture out, if along roadways and cross walks. I came within inches of being hit by a car ignoring the stop sign as he hurriedly exited a parking lot driveway. I was already in the crosswalk! And he cursed me out for being in his way ! A Florida man, I assume.
1
Time to locate my Fitbit! I get such joy (thank you Marie Kondo for bringing that word back) when the fireworks go off on my Fitbit because it means it was a 10,000 step day.
11
I walk around Costco using a Shopping cart It helps me a great deal, I'm 82 yrs old. I go up and down the Isles for at least 45 min to one hour. I am also trying to lose weight. this does help.
43
Agree that strolling the aisles of the grocery stores with hands on the cart is good for my 80 y.o. Mom. Keeps here balanced. Losing weight at Costco, well, I would debate that given all the goodies they sell and the size of the food packaging. My wallet loses weight there, for sure.
4
"none of whom reported poor health": That's pretty vague. Were the participants given medical exams? There are many conditions that might not be apparent to a person but can affect energy levels.
5
Use 10,000 steps as a goal, but let the body dictate when it’s not a good idea. At 72, am averaging around 7,500 steps a day. That usually includes two 4 to 5 mile walks a week through my college alma mater campus. Plenty of undulation and very few cars. Surrounded by timeless beauty, its therapeutic in so many ways. Dedicated walking is the best positive habit in my life. All medical tests verify the effectiveness
25
Interesting and apparently useful to know these results, but I, too, find it hard to believe that many people can't comprehend the meaning of 30 minutes of exercise 5 times weekly. I do find that my health care providers seem as a group to gear information to a level that would probably insult the average third grader, so perhaps there's something about medical education or experience that results in assuming most of us are stupid. Or perhaps they're just too rushed these days to engage in more than the most simplistic of conversations.
13
I have a gluteous medius tendon tear and limp very badly so walking any distance is really tough even with a walker. Is there a compensatory exercise?
8
@Barbara Seid
my sympathy, empathy. Rest, allow healing. Take all necessary time. Be kind to yourself. Tea. If it’s in your regimen, wine, etc. Allow it to come to you.
6
@Barbara Seid is there a pool you can use?
3
@Barbara Seid
I have damage to the left gluteus minimus and two labral tears on the left hip area. My doc recommended going to a Physical Therapist with a prescription from him. The PT discouraged walking and recommends recumbent bike or pool exercises. But really important is doing the specific PT exercises with the aim of overcoming the damage altogether or improving the situation. I have mixed results so far but still have hope. Anyway, worth a try unless your doc thinks otherwise.
2
How do you define "premature mortality"? If I want to live to a hundred but die at 85 (or even 75), is that "premature"? Aap meaningless term.
8
Please define "premature mortality." Any age below 80? 90? A meaningless term.
9
Is step count really the best indicator? It seems like an indirect measure of other, more fundamental processes. Maybe it's convenient for some people and maybe it's easy for researchers to quantify, but let's not lose sight of deeper measures that might be more meaningful. I exercise by walking uphill just about every day for 30+ minutes, and then back down. I don't keep track of steps but I can assuredly tell you that walking 100 steps uphill is better than walking 100 steps on a flat. It also seems that walking downhill is better than flat.
10
Many elderly people suffer with mobility problems (use walkers, canes, etc). This article is not much use for them
6
@Molly K. Many such people can swim or do other exercise in a pool. Sustained movement of any sort is likely beneficial, even if there aren't steps to count. Do as much as you can. Finding something that you enjoy is important because it's easier to stick with.
18
@David Swimming is wonderful exercise but I would say most seniors outside of the Sunbelt do not have access, easy or not, to a swimming pool.
12
And many people do not like to swim, or do not like all the prep required to get to a pool, get wet, redo hair, dry off, get back from the pool, and of course a significant number of people can’t swim. It is also a very different activity than walking! I would bet an amateur’s swimming does not do much for the muscles.
1
Read the article, people. The study participants were already screened for not having existing health problems. So the argument that less healthy people biased the results is not valid.
My bus commute was 1/2 hour each way. I decided to walk it instead, and doubled the commute time, but now get in 2 hours of walking a day. It's marvelous!
33
@fiflarue I'm glad for you. Not many people are within walking distance of work, or have a safe route to take if they are.
2
@fiflarue
The study summary-Jama ( I was unable to access the full report-which was behind a pay wall), indicates Dr. Lee used the data collected in another project but did not screen anyone herself. From this article and the summary it is unclear exactly what health info was used. This article mentions subjects self reported no significant health problems but not what health records were available to verify that assessment. Dr. Lee also admits they "tried to but could not completely control" certain possibilities that their was little or no relationship between steps and life spans. In short there is only a correlation between number of steps and mortality rates. Dr. Lee brings no scientific evidence that taking more steps will lead to a longer life; she merely says what persons have been saying for 100's or more like 1000's of years-try to stay physically active as you grow older.
1
I am a woman, 67. I've had body pain since I was 26, when my back first 'went out' while unloading clothes from a dryer. I've had multiple surgeries on my back and knees. My neck/shoulders/back is a real issue and now is causing dizziness. But what is most upsetting is, all of a sudden, my feet hurt so much when I walk! It's like they are constantly cramping. Every step is very painful.
I have a three unit home and now it's summer here in Maine and I have things to do! But, oh, I hurt so much, it's like everything 'freezes' after a couple of hours of labor - up and down stairs, painting, washing, etc.
I've told myself I have to walk or I'm a goner. It was a very long winter and a very bad spring. And I'm still not moving even though I always do by now with so much work to do. I sit and read news/comments on our terrible political situation instead.
But it's really my feet. Have never had trouble with my feet before but now when I do take a walk, I feel hobbled like a Chinese woman with wrapped, deformed feet.
Anybody else have this problem? I'm 25 pounds overweight. Is this the cause?
11
@sophia: Have you tried magnesium, either epsom salts or by mouth? it hard to take too much, you get diarrhea prior to any other problem.
4
@sophia: Oh and here's the other thing: the pain in my feet doesn't happen all the time. Just some of the time, intermittently, which is what confuses me about it all. Why would one day be ok and the next? Terrible!
Consider Gout, it’s surprisingly prevalent.
7
Well, I am in this demographic, and live less than two miles from a nice greenway or in the other direction, a walking path to the library. Unfortunately, I'd take my life in my hands to walk there. No sidewalks. No shoulders. Toward the greenway, a culvert on the side (with no shoulder) into which I'd be pushed if a car got too close.
Sure, I could drive to the greenway, but that already reduces the chance I'd do it daily after dinner. right?
13
@MD
Under those circumstances I would not walk there either, nor bike there, but I'm not sure what the big deal is about driving a couple of miles.
1
Why would driving to the greenway reduced your likelihood to do such ? I think your statement reflects what many an American does. Finds excuses not to get up and out and move.
2
I think everyone knows more exercise is better, but I don't agree at all with some of the main stations this article makes. Mainly the idea that saying you should do 150 minutes of exercise a week is "too confusing" for people to figure out what it means but somehow counting steps is easier? bogus, it is very easy to comprehend you should get about 30 minutes of exercise a day. Who wants to counts steps and what's the point. A step either is a proxy for either time or distance or both together, so this obsession with counting steps and having to invest in expensive equipment, etc., is just silly to me. I would like to know exactly WHAT distance that is, on average, no where in that article does it say. I don't know anyone who is too stupid to know what 30 minutes means but can only count steps. IN fact 4500 steps is probably about two miles, so why don't they say that. And for most people who really are just strolling, as it claimed, that's a lot more than 30 minutes. When I walk at a brisk clip on the treadmill, I go 3 miles per hour, for example. IF I really just strolled, that would probably be an hour. Believe it or not but some people don't want to buy fancy gadgets just to walk. And then you have to calibrate it and pay for batteries, etc.
20
@Chris Wagner Not hard if you keep your smart phone in your pocket. Most phones have built-in pedometers. Since I don't go for walks, but do most of my walking around my property, it would be hard for me to know how far I've walked each day without this app.
10
The smart phone (when I do inadvertently carry it in the house) is a wonder. Who knew I often do six flights of stairs a day? Or walk almost a mile? In the house?
Watering plants, picking up the cats' toys, going to various windows to see what birds are making those lovely sounds, climbing up to the attic to find an old book, running down to the basement to check on seepage after a storm, going out onto the front porch to check on the police, ambulance, or fire truck in front of the apartment house . . . .
I guess it all counts. Still, I don't know that it's as good as a brisk walk in Prospect Park.
5
Nice article that sheds a bit of light on # of steps and health, its always been frustrating as an MD to justify to patients the 10,000 number.
But a word of caution: studies like this one are full of biases— such as the inability to understand stairs vs flat vs downhill, or time of day, summer vs winter, were the steps an average over a day, week, year? Etc.....
That’s why the NYT really should be careful with publishing articles that review specific research studies— so important to get people who can present data properly to non-medical readers.
17
@No One The article did comment that intensity was not a big factor, just step count.
1
Sheesh! - the first time I read the article I thought it said 150 minutes per DAY.
10
Huge problem with this study and any lesson to be drawn: while 16k participants is a good start for a study, this was only a association noted- not a causal relationship. It seems more likely that steps/ is more likely a marker of those folks who are already healthy. Sick people walk less.
11
@Albert The authors of the study made clear in the article, that they only used otherwise healthy people. They didn't include those with health problems.
1
@MimiB Neither the JAMA summary (full report behind a pay wall) or this article present the methodology of how they determined the participants were "healthy"; what health data on the participants was available to the study. There were slightly over 18000 women in the health study they used (note they did not collect any health data themselves) and the accelerometers from slightly over 16000 of those women were used in Dr. Lee's study. It appears that they used all those women in their data analysis. The mean age was 72 year old. I find it hard to believe that when you use 88% of all women in the study you are including only "healthy" persons. It seems (but no evidence is provided in the summary or article) they tried to control for certain parameters. Still the warning"researchers tried to but could not completely control" the possibility there was little or no relationship between steps and life spans. Not very scientific.
One less thing to feel guilty about. I'd rather garden than walk alone.
8
@Barbara One wonders why gardening doesn't seem to be counted/studied as exercise. A day of full-body gardening uses all one's muscles, balance is essential, motion is nonstop. It's a chance to play outside. Flowers, trees, the sounds of bees and birds. Beauty.
24
"Of course, this study looked at older women and mortality. It is impossible to know if the findings apply likewise to men or younger people ..."
That's hilarious considering that the lion's share of medical & pharmaceutical "studies" are done using only male subjects and frequently these males are college age. Yet always the results of such gender-biased studies are widely assumed to apply to women as well. Medications & medical regimens are prescribed for women based on studies that used exclusively male subjects.
Interesting that it was a female, the author of this piece, who was honest enough to admit that a study that used a limited range of participants might not be widely applicable to everybody. I have read far too many studies where the (usually male) authors express no concerns & voice no caveats regarding the extremely narrow profile of the study subjects.
37
A few years back I purchased a Garmin vivofit because it will hold information for two weeks if I am traveling abroad and can't use my phone to download my steps. Hubby and I end up wanting to get extra steps in, so we walk to the mailbox a mile away or we park at the far end of the parking lot or better yet, walk to the store. Some of my classmates are barely mobile but I easily put in 4-7 miles a day. I think physically I am better off but it is also nice to chat with my husband. It is an easy routine to get into.
17
Since the original paper is not freely available to non-subscribers, did the authors confirm that the women in each cohort were actually walking during the entire 4.3 years of the study?
1
Two thoughts: First, discussing steps as a measure of fitness seems tedious. Why not discuss walking in terms of mileage which is more intuitive? For example, I walk at a rate of about 3 mph, so I know that I can achieve my goal of walking 2 miles per day by walking for 40 minutes. Second, there is a qualitative dimension to walking. I try to walk in my nearby nature preserve which not only helps me stay fit, but also makes me feel better by enjoying nature.
19
@Richard Feldman Because it is hard to determine the mileage you accrue walking around the house, parking a little further away, etc. A cheap pedometer or an app on a recent smart phone counts the steps with ease, whether those “interstitial steps” or what you do on your daily walk after dinner “to get your steps in.”
1
Post hoc, ergo propter hoc.
How good was the fit? Were people encouraged to walk as much as they can, thus breaking down the walls between the naturally sorted groups that might be limited by arthritis and other issues?
I find I lose the most weight doing yard work and moving stuff around . . . and walking next to none.
5
@Mtnman1963 Yard work IS walking. According to my phone app, I walk a couple of miles just doing yard work, gardening and home maintenance. There's no reason to suppose that the walking has to be limited to structured walking time.
8
I'm an amateur long distance walker. One thing I've learned is that the pedometer apps on the iphone each give different results.
A second thing I've learned is that walking three times a day helps me. In the morning I walk before work. In the middle of the day I do a second walk and after work, a third. In particular I think the evening walk is very valuable, as most of us go from dinner to a sofa to a bed. Processing the work day with a walk is very restorative.
30
enough with the steps - what is it in actual mileage?
8
@linh
I looked up your question and found the following:
2,000 steps = 1 mile
So, 4500 steps = 2.5 miles.
I always thought a short person's stride would be different than a taller person's stride, so I never put a lot of stock in steps. I know the various differences of where I walk and know what my target places to reach 2, 4 or 5 miles a day.
What really helped me get up, get out and move was when we had our sweet and perfect dog, Abby. I loved her and walking her - every outing with that perfect little girl was fun, refreshing, and exciting. After she passed, we never got another dog and I have put on more pounds than I want to admit to myself, much less publicly. But I'm a lump now. I need to get back out there and start walking and talking the stairs whenever the opportunity presents itself.
16
@linh
How in the world would mileage help you - you can count steps but you can't count miles
1
I too put on weight when my perfect dog got old and then passed, like you. When he was declining I stopped exercising with him, and then I got busy, and then, well, pounds piled on. I understand.
It took me over a year to be ready for another dog, but at last I was ready. He is young, large, and full of energy. Our walks are a highlight of my day, and I am not tempted to skip because when I do he gets wild with pent up energy. I walk him before work and sometimes multiple times per day, so my fitness is returning. Plus he is inspiring me to run and hike more. Plus, he brings a lot of laughter and joy. Being outdoors is good for body and soul, and I enjoy small conversations with other dog owners. A win all around!
5
The study cited in this article suggesting we need more than 10,000 steps for heart health directly contradicts the study emphasized in this article.
So, what is in common between this study and the study cited? More is better than less.
My wife and i both wear vivofits, mostly for fun. We don't keep track of steps. Instead, we keep track of time spent. One reason: It doesn't record all types of steps. When I mow the lawn, walking constantly, I get almost no step credit because my arm is not moving correctly. We can take a 6 mile hike in the mountains and my wife might get only 1000 steps because she uses trekking poles and they interfere with the device's sensors.
We play a mean game of ping pong and get almost no step credit, yet we take a lot of steps while playing.
6
@Travelers
Agree! I spend a lot of time gardening, where I might dig, stretch, and left without taking many actual steps. Lots of other good exercise does not involve measurable steps. Still, I am reassured to know that I'm still doing well even when I don't make it to the 10,000 step goal.
4
Sure sounds a lot easier than "walking just two miles a day," doesn't it? The switch to a less-familiar (after the first few steps) unit of measure doesn't change the distance. Of course walking a few miles day will get you fitter, especially compared to doing no physical activity whatsoever. But some people do have mobility issues, safety issues and have to get to and from work, work too long a day and see their family briefly when they get home, All in a limited number of waking hours. Do the math for how many hours this adds up to, and what's left over.. Of course, you can always sleep-deprive yourself so you're exercising enough. Other than that, it's easy! And all that aside, the exercise tips given by other readers are all good ones, even if not everyone can take advantage of each of them.
Please show realistic pictures of truly old women (I would say over 75) out walking in a regular, not idealized setting.
Most of these kinds of articles just make people who must sit at a desk all day to pay their bills and then go home to more work feel guilty.
Of course we should walk. We should have access to health care and adequate income, too. And safe neighborhoods to walk in. Duhhhh.
42
@Carrie
Walk during lunch.
4
@Abby Cute that such a thing as “lunchtime” exists where you are. I realized about a year ago that I had rarely taken even half an hour in the middle of the day for myself since my first child was born in 2004. That lack of routine for meals plus lipedema has accumulated to about 45 lbs. Still averaging 5 miles walking and 10 flights of stairs daily because this is NYC. Maybe she’s not a parent of young kids working consulting but Carrie may find Pittsburgh incompatible with safe walking much of the year (weather, huge hills.)
1
No indication of causality here. Maybe ekderly women who are more healthy walk more bc they can.
22
Exactly what I was thinking.
1
What do you mean by “older women”?
6
This is all very lovely to read unless one has other health issues that cause ones mobility to be severely limited. All of us at my local pulmonary rehab would love nothing more than to be able to walk further/longer. Alas, "the spirit is willing but the body is weak" is true for us, even though we exercise 3 times weekly and have done so for many years. Progressive pulmonary disease eventually "wins".
3
@India
Circumstances also cause immobility. I live in a rural area - when I was younger, it was a great place to walk along country roads - but now, it has become more populated, traffic is heavier, and sidewalks have never been put in. I have a big back yard with a little woods; and I garden and so forth, but there is no longer any place to safely walk.
Another circumstance is that for those of us who are primary caretakers for someone who is not well - how to leave the house to take a walk? I could in theory drive to public trails that are about 20 minutes away, but to drive a total of 40 minutes to fit in a 20 minute walk, and while I am gone, what happens? Some days, I could give that a try, though I am not so keen about walking alone in the middle of a forest. And many days, no way can that happen.
I was extremely active as a young and middle-year woman - swimming, hiking, biking, walking - now, it's beyond my resources.
9
Weekly I attempt to swim my age in laps (up and back = 1 lap) and aim for 5000 steps/day. I rarely do laps and get in my 50000 on the same day, and more often than not walk about 3000 steps, because it is hot. Today I only swam 10 laps, but every time I get in the YMCA pool is a victory. Having read this article I will definitely walk 5000 steps. I will go for a walk before making dinner (tonight cod and a packaged kale/cabbage salad). And I rarely skip a watered down gin martini. I also do tai chi, have been doing so for 20 years. 71 and healthy, but on blood pressure medicine to keep it below 140.
7
I care for people across the lifespan. I ask “what do you do for exercise” or, failing that, “what do you need help with?” I find in my clinical experience in perioperative medicine, like the study authors, that the bar is not as high as formal “workouts” to thrive through major surgery even if you are old. Daily dog walking, gardening, heavy housework, caretaking for another person or caring for animals or land, manual labor like construction: all these are markers for long life.
17
@Ann This is a great observation. But it points to something important: association is not causality. The study's authors know that, but the journalist made a passing reference to it in the penultimate graf after writing an entire article suggesting that very moderate exercise is enough for good health and a longer life. When in fact it may be relatively good health that enables the person to be that active.
8
I believe you are looking at this the wrong way. If you want steps to really make a difference, you need to walk at speed for a minimum of a half hour straight, 5-6 days a week. That doesn't fit a lot of people's lives, unfortunately. Any exercise guru will also tell you that you need to mix in resistance work 2-3 times a week.
Resistance bands are an excellent choice for this. I've been following this pattern (including biking) since 1979. I'm in shape:)
4
@rd spafford
You are looking at it in the wrong way - the underlying message of all of these studies is simply to get moving.
The idea that you need to monitor your heartbeat or doi weights or do resistance is fine but it often discourages folks who would benefit from simply getting off their keisters.
7
My advice is to get a dog! Every morning one must take the walk and every afternoon as well. It prevents we who are likely to be sedentary from avoiding exercise.
54
@judy75007
Plus, they say that the affection offered by pets also increases longevity and happiness. We all know that!
2
Hallelujah! A study that 1) goes beyond studying men only, 2) focuses on older women at that, and 3) validates the notion that 10,000 steps is an artificial barometer at best, and one not always suited to the busy 50+ woman often juggling work, sandwich generation responsibilities and other time limitations. Conversely, the busy lives of many women over 50 should take heart in what is known as “non-exercise activity thermogenesis” - aka “NEAT” - laundry, lifting a child or infirm relative, taking the stairs, dancing, yoga, artistic pursuits, cooking and other quotidian tasks that also burn calories - and no, they’re not all women’s work. Women in or just beyond menopause have different metabolic systems that do not respond to dietary restrictions and exercise advice “for all.” Same with women in their 60s who no longer can walk for extended periods of time in the hopes of achieving 10,000 calories burned.
Point is: move as much as possible, in different ways. Add muscle work and strength training. Walk early in the day and in the afternoon if possible, at whatever pace suits your energy. If not, for sure take 5 minute breaks during the day to move vigorously if you’re a desk worker. Skip the subway, walk instead. Skip the big dinner portions capped off by heavy desserts. That, I think, kills more older women than anything else.
31
Yet another argument for walkable communities. Better than step counts are daily activity goals: walk to a store, a park, the cleaners, the coffee shop, the library... Ditch the car and the couch.
108
@JEH I second that!
2
As someone in a healthcare environment who sees elderly women making up about a quarter of my practice, there is an exercise bump when the husband retires. Either the happy couple triples their activity level with walks, hikes, golf, etc...or the wife starts going on longer walks to escape the man who now listlessly follows them around the house all day.
170
Very funny!
8
@Ananda This is an interesting observation! Maybe someone can study it.
5
Oh and of course they show women with a dog in a lovely retirement setting. Most women don’t live in places like that or have dogs and are still working or live places without sidewalks or where walking a block is taking your life in your hands. Maybe the researchers would like to come pick up the rest of us and take us to someplace like that for our walk.
41
@eve Retirement setting? That’s a public park. Near an office complex. But point made about so many living in areas where walking is not easy. Maybe look for - or start -a walking group in your area? And someone in the group can come by an pick you up? Or you can offer a lift to others?
14
@eve Then perhaps it is the time of life to think about one's living environment and whether it enhances or degrades health. We are bound to our environments, and greatly influenced by them as you recognize. Living in an isolating environment that only encourages driving isn't good for anyone. Time to re-evaluate if you want healthy and productive older years.
7
@eve
SF has a lot of great places to walk. Where in SF are you living that you are unable to walk? SF is one of the most walkable cities in America.
Most of the Bay Area has sidewalks. Most women in America do live in places with sidewalks and where it is safe to go outside. Even if they don't, they can go to a park to walk, or walk against traffic as I do on streets where there are no sidewalks. There really are no obstacles that prevent people who want to walk from walking.
11
so, 100 or so steps when getting up to the bathroom, then to get coffee. another hundred or so more getting the newspaper off the driveway. then downstairs to the laundry. it's not an hour or so later and i am a third of the way there.
this is the magic of steps. they do not need to be 4500 in a sequence. just move around more. take more trips to fill your coffee or tea or water. sit less, walk more.
16
@Kevin D, exactly. A few years ago I wore a pedometer to track my steps and found that just my daily routine gave me 8,000 steps. As we live on an usually large city block (it’s a mile one way around), all it took was 2 times around the block to get the 2,000 steps to hit the magic 10,000 number. On days where I couldn’t walk around the block (time,weather, illness, etc), I would feel so guilty and unhealthy. In summer, it’s just too bloody hot and humid to do it. So now, yay!! No more guilt. If I only get the 8,000, I’m good.
5
My bad on the math. Once around my block is 1 mile, hence 2,000 steps. So I wasn’t going twice around the block (unless I only had 6,000 steps that day and needed an extra 4K). Anyway, the good message in this article is that I no longer have to suffer the tyranny of the 10,000 step rule. Even if I only get 6,000 steps a day, I am doing well and feeling well!! No more guilt.
Never let the perfect get in the way of the good.
9
This is good news.
One advantage to having a dog...gets me out of my chair 4 times a day for 1/3 mile walk around the block. I've walked the equivalent of NY to Florida multiple times in last 12 years.
14
Lost of fuzzy math going on in these comments. But if people can't grasp the idea of 150 minutes a week, why am I surprised?
5
You register up to 3000 steps walking about your house and doing the activities of daily living. So, in more concrete terms, 4500 steps a day usually mean taking an extra walk of about 6 blocks. That's less than a mile.
4
"Even so, the findings suggest that step counts can be a useful way to measure exercise and that taking more steps is better than taking fewer, Dr. Lee says."
Findings? There were no findings. There were numbers (like the math problem assertion that its too difficult to translate 150 minutes/week to 2-1/2 hours). There are *associations* that are completely undercut by the caveats in the last two paragraphs. Does anyone not already know that taking more steps is better than taking fewer? *Trolling* through the data is an apt description.
8
VARIATION from day to day is key. I am 70 and have been too dependent on daily step goals. As you get older, it makes more sense to vary your routine, as others have said. I am now alternating hard days (running 6-7 miles) with easy days (dog walking, weight lifting, chores), and I'm more fit and more rested. Another half marathon is in my future, even though I know it won't help me live any longer. It's just great to be out there!
8
@Riva
That's a really good routine. I hope to do something like it when I get to my 70s. And, I think it will help us to live longer. More importantly, it helps to maintain optimal physical and mental well being.
4500 steps is just over two miles and would take the average human about 40 to 50 minutes to complete. I walk to the health club which one mile from my house and workout for 60 to 90 minutes then walk home.
6
Interesting. I'm not "that old" yet... but certainly plan one day to be "that old"! Last December, I started taking the public transportation train to work every day.... got out of the car habit, and have found that my balance has much improved - partly because I don't wear any sort of heeled shoes - lots of walking - but mainly because there are many long flights of stairs to go up and down every day. I hadn't realized how much modern life and modern retail places do not have stairs. I think it's very important to "practice" going up and down staircases on a daily basis. It seems like a tiny thing, but I think somehow, it's imprinting on my brain to make me better to handle my senior future.
7
@Surviving I'm already in my "senior future" (80) and purposely bought a third-floor condo. 42 steps up, 42 down, at least three times a day, often more. Laundry in the basement adds a few more, plus daily moving around. Many advantages in addition to exercise: a tree-top view and no walking-around noise above me. I'm slow, but so what? I recommend it for mobile seniors when downsizing.
10
@Paducah - Glad to hear your experience. I'm 73 & I love my 2-story house. I'm up & down the stairs 12 - 24 times a day + more activities.
6
The headline, picture and study don't seem to go together. I am fine with "older" matched up with women in their 70s, but does that picture really represent women in their 70s? I am guessing 50s and 60s there.
6
I'm not sure why the 4,400 steps were described as "the sweet spot". That was the point at which the rate of mortality started to be reduced relative to the most sedentary people (reduced to an extent that could be determined statistically) but mortality rate continued to drop in association with increased step count up to 7,500 steps. Mortality reduction at 4,400 steps was about 40% but mortality reduction at 7,500 was about 60%. How is 40% reduction better/sweeter than 60%?
4
@LInda I'm assuming it's because there was not much mortality reduction at all PRIOR to 4,400 steps.
1
@George Fogel
But sweet spot means OPTIMAL; it implies that there is less benefit both with fewer than 4,400 steps and more than 4,400 steps, and that is not what was found. In the study 7.500 steps was the sweet spot, where benefit maxed out, after which no additional benefit was obtained.
4,400 steps was the MINIMAL amount of steps for which this study could demonstrate a statistically meaningful reduction in (rate of) mortality, but I'd be willing to bet that 3,500 steps is better than 2700 steps, and that 4,350 steps wouldn't have a significantly different risk of mortality than 4,400 steps, etc. In any case, minimal is not the same as optimal.
6
@LInda I went to the JAMA article and read the abstract. The authors' conclusions are,
"Among older women, as few as approximately 4400 steps/d was significantly related to lower mortality rates compared with approximately 2700 steps/d. With more steps per day, mortality rates progressively decreased before leveling at approximately 7500 steps/d. Stepping intensity was not clearly related to lower mortality rates after accounting for total steps per day."
Unfortunately I would have had to buy the article to see the raw data.
4
When I was living in the city I routinely walked 7,000+ steps a day, and often many more. Now, living in the country, I have to drive to a destination and make it an event in order to accomplish the same thing.
14
@rainbow
I agree..city living definitely has it’s benefits!
1
Cooking, dish washing, grocery shopping, laundry, housecleaning all count as light to moderate exercise. Gardening, yard work, and shoveling are definitely moderate to higher intensity exercise.
Plus, cooking meals at home, from whole foods, is much healthier than eating highly processed foods (such as snacks and prepared meals), as shown by a recent study. As is eating mostly plant based foods.
Add in a walk outside, and the result is a fairly healthy lifestyle.
5
I’m very happy to see a study using women, and particularly happy to see one with older women (a demographic I’m rapidly approaching). From what I read in the Times health columns and elsewhere, you might think the world had nothing but young, healthy men. Researchers: please continue to expand your subject bases!
72
Why these researchers think counting steps makes more sense than clocking minutes is a mystery -- how many people wear pedometers? -- but withholding the other obvious measure, miles per day or week, which this reporter also declines to supply, is even more perverse.
4000 steps? 10000 steps? More than 10000 steps? What does it all add up to, in familiar measures people will actually understand?
7
@jrd Exactly. I do not have a fitbit, I do not count my steps, I just walk! So what does this mean for me?
3
@jrd
I walk at least 6000 steps/day. That takes one hour. That's simple to understand.
1
10,000 steps? For an average person it takes over 2,000 steps to walk one mile. 10,000 steps would be almost 5 miles. At 20 minutes a mile that is an hour and 40 minutes of low-grade exercise. Let's get real here. It's an unworkable premise.
5
@Richard Greydog I do most of my reading and media viewing on my iPad on a treadmill. I’m slow but I work up to at least a half hour at normal walking speed. I don’t measure steps nor time but am on treadmill for at least five hours daily - and then I go on my stationary cycle at home just spinning - no pressure - for hours. Don’t care if house is dirty and don’t lunch with the ladies. I do extensive volunteer work. Nearing 70 and have caregiver responsibilities to that 80-plus male in the home. When I’ve measured treadmill miles, it nears 8-10.
3
@Richard Greydog it becomes much more workable when you incorporate bits of movement into your day instead of trying to do it all at once. Park farther away at the store, and you'll add a couple hundred steps...
11
My mother lived to 107 years, 8 months and 13 days. Her health was good for 105 of those. She did her own shopping, cooking and light chores as well as winning at Bingo every week. She never took vitamins or supplements or did formal exercise. However, when ask her secret to longevity she would tell you to eat anything you wanted, just in moderation, quit worrying so much and keep moving!
45
Walking is not a miracle cure but it is the easiest thing to do to get the basic exercise that you need as a senior and can only help.
Other things like basic stretching exercises in the morning are also good.
What to avoid, over the top running, especially marathon running, intensive workouts, heavy weight training etc. etc. In the end they do more harm than good or at the very least don't add much to your longevity without becoming a cripple.
Also eating right is also key to a healthier, happier senior life.
You can walk all you want but if you weigh 200+ pounds, it will be all for naught.
7
@Paul
It depends on your height and musculature. Many tall muscular men are 200+ healthy pounds.
2
@Paul
What are your studies that show heavy workouts are bad?
2
@MariaSS-Thank you for you reply. Agree with your post but usually people over 200 lbs. are overweight especially women but one can certainly differ on the threshold.
1
You can not say that walking 4500 steps a day "reduced" mortality without a double blind randomized study. You can only say that walking 4500 steps is associated with reduced mortality. Association is not causality. Here is an easy analogy---height over six foot four in men is associated with six 12 shoes. However buying six twelve shoes will not make you grow to be six foot four.
10
I'm 65. I switched from walking to bicycling over a year ago when I hurt one of my knees. About this same time I threw away my Fitbit. I don't wear the funny clothes or have a speedy bike but it is a 21 speed where one sits up straight. I ride 10 miles 5 days a week and try to do 20 miles one day a week. I try to average 10 miles an hour but it varies since I stop to pet dogs and chat with strangers. These casual encounters mean a lot to me and seem to enrich my life.
We are very lucky here in St. Petersburg to have a well maintained bike trail system called the Pinellas Trail (plus the Skyway Trail, etc.) It runs for over 45 miles throughout the county. I have many different routes I take to mix it up and this adventure has opened up the city to me in ways I didn't think possible.
For me just getting out there and doing something I enjoy for a small part of the day gives me a feeling of accomplishment. There is so much pressure to go a certain distance or take a designated amount of steps....enough already. Just do something you are comfortable with and enjoy!
88
@Lauren You picked a good place to live! I have to drive my bike someplace safe to ride. Even then there are speed demons on the bike paths.
6
It's quite likely true that the weaker and ill women walked less, as the years passed (the chicken/egg issue).
Still, the daily walking might help foretell weakening health, which is useful in itself. If your stamina is decreasing, there might be a reason to look into.
9
What is needed is a randomized control study, aka RCT. It’s difficult, as you would need to decide at what age to perform the randomization and would need to have equipoise (believe there is no proven harm or benefit in being randomized to one group or the other). Today, virtually everyone would agree that is’s never too late to benefit from an exercise. This pretty much rules any RCT that tries to randomize to a no added activity control group. In an observational study such as this one you could try to identify and “correct” for other factors that could explain the observation, but you would need access to the heath records if you wanted to assess how healthy the individuals were at the start of the study. Here, “none reported poor health”. This could of been looked at much more closely if the researchers had had access to information on body weight and height, cholesterol levels, etc.. It’s possible this will become easily available in the future with advances in electronic medical record (EMR) recording, but there are are privacy issues.
Bottom line, this is still a good study with reasonable - read sane - guidance.
5
Agreed. I'd be curious to know if the walkers also happened to have other factors that aided their health e.g. were they more likely to be active in sports than non-walkers?
4
4500 steps sounds like a big number - but recently visiting Tokyo we were doing up to 18000 steps per day (as recorded by our iPhones’ Health app)
At just under 6 foot with relatively long legs I've just measured my step length at 80cm normal to 100cm fast stride - but my iPhone stepmeter distance/steps suggests most frequently 60cm - so thereabouts.
If I walk the commonly used 5kph(3mph for y'all), then step lengths of 60-80-100cm would mean 5000 metres/(0.6-0.8-1 metre) or 5000-6250-8300 steps/hour.
In other words this article’s suggestion of 4500 steps/day as a good thing might only take me as little as 33 minutes (or 43 or 54 minutes depending on step length).
Living in the city we walk everywhere - but being retired we tend to take it easy and walk somewhere every second day - today we strolled to lunch in town so I saw 7837 steps with about 2200 steps each way - probably a 15 minute stroll to the restaurant and meandering afterwards.
My iPhone Health app also shows my daily averages for the last Week - 5387 steps, Month - 5033 steps, and Year - 6424 steps per day.
None of this is done as 'exercise' - it is all incidental on the way to shopping, restaurants, entertainment, art, fun social and free events in the city. So all of it done wearing casual clothes - no lycra was harmed in the making of these averages …
38
This study is really about being either completely sedentary, as in 2000 or so steps, or getting at least the minimum amount of movement, as in 4000 or so steps.
Healthy aging should include not only walking, but strength training, at any level as long as it is progressive. Frailty and falling are major factors in mortality. Muscle strength can be gained at any age, even in people over 80. Just check the other exercise and aging article in this week’s Times.
23
What it measured was health at the beginning of the study. If you're healthy, and death is further from you, you tend to be more active. If you're unhealthy (relative to the others participants) then you're already less active. This is a correlational study and correlation is not causation.
12
I am a general practitioner (an MD)
If there is one script I will write for EVERY patient , it is the drug called "EXERCISE".
Thanks for reinforcing my practise of medicine.
94
A big problem in getting enough exercise is a busy desk job with long hours required. It's even worse if you commute. To solve the problem of weekly exercise, my spouse and I took up long (well, long-ish) distance hiking (7-10 miles) every Sunday. Sometimes near home, sometimes not; sometimes an urban hike, sometimes rural (preferably with hills). We have hiked about 250 miles so far, in a period of several months. It changed everything for us. Now we are looking at doing some mountains. If I were in New York, I would get out every Sunday and start with the city itself -- some of the best urban hiking on the planet -- and I'd try to do all of the boroughs, on foot. You can also do 7-10 mile hikes along the beautiful Hudson Valley and along the lovely shores of Long Island.
29
At the rate of 90 steps/minute, one needs 50 minutes to go 4,500 steps.
6
One mile = approximately 2000 steps.
7
The elephant in the room of these findings was never mentioned: the car.
Last year I moved from a far out suburb where you could not do a thing without getting behind the wheel to downtown. My step count went to 15,000 a day and my annual mileage on my car dropped to under 4,000 miles. A win-win... weight lost and money saved.
I would also observe that the good things we do like walking can be wiped away by the bad, like a poor diet, drinking and smoking... but having said that, ditch the car, even if you have to move to do so.
65
When I read this JAMA article last week I wanted to shout it from the rooftops. A study about women with an average age of 72! Astonishing! No healthy college kids in the study. Shocking. I am so glad you featured it this week, Gretchen. I'm 67 and not fit, but I walk. I find it reassuring that meeting my FitBit goal of 5000 steps most days makes more difference than I thought it could. Today I walked 9000 steps because I went on a hike. Chances are I won't walk as far tomorrow, but it will be a cushion in reaching an average of 4400 a day. I knew the 10,000 step goal had no scientific proof but didn't know how obscure the origin was. The tyranny of the 10,000 is over.
115
What's so hard about grasping the concept of 150 minutes? Are minutes harder to understand than steps? Everyone has a watch; counting steps requires a Fitbit or a pedometer. Maybe Dr. Lee consults for Fitbit?
20
@MET, there is a pedometer built into an iPhone, and probably other smartphones as well . . . .
2
@MET
That's what I thought. All of a sudden, time is an old-fashioned measure. I don't normally wear a watch, and I definitely don't carry a phone, while exercising. If I need to track my progress, I'll do a distance I know the length of and note my starting and ending time on the car's clock.
2
“Older women?” That’s so vague. What ages are we talking about in the study?
1
@Baggal: The article says: "The researchers gathered the step-count and health data from almost 17,000 of the participants, most of them in their 70s, and none of whom reported poor health."
If you click on the link starting with "new study" in the article, you'll get to "Key Points" and the abstract, which both say the mean age of the women was 72. So we might guess that many of them were in their late 60s.
11
@Baggal The age range was 62 to 101.
3
@Baggal That information was provided: most of the women were in their 70s.
4
I am currently embarked on a personal quest of walking the equivalent of the Appalachian Trail at a YMCA near where I live.
I try to walk 2 miles every day, with an occasional break of a few days to gather the bits and pieces of myself back together again.
No speed demon am I.
It takes me about 50 minutes each day to accomplish, so Roger Bannister’s record is still safe from eclipse by me.
Assuming I don’t break down somewhere along the way, I figure I
can get the job done in about 3 years.
I can already visualize the Page 1 article in the Times about me.
“80 year old man finishes fake Appalachian Trail walk. Is not
attacked by a bear or awarded a trophy. Says he will now try to
climb Mt. Everest.”
211
@A. Stanton
I love this idea! You can track your progress with a map of the AT, and celebrate milestones, like state lines and national parks.
36
@A. Stanton
Godspeed to you, Mr. Stanton. Brilliant idea and no lines for you on Everest and you won’t leave any garbage behind.
Cheers.
6
Obviously it did NOT reduce mortality.
At best it increased the age of mortality.
50
@Michael Kubar The study states that the rate of mortality during the five year follow-up period, not over the life of the subjects, indicated a lower mortality rate for the participants who walked about 4400 steps. It's an observation limited by time. Of course, the age of mortality increased.
13
@Michael Kubara
Lol. By your reasoning, nothing reduces mortality.
It refers to mortality over a certain time period.
9
Everybody dies.
1
As the article stated the causality may have been reversed, meaning that women who walked less may have done so because they were sicker and more frail, not vice versa.
Any movement is better than none, but most of us do not move nearly enough. I believe (based on no studies whatsoever) that two hours a day of walking are the bare minimum needed to survive and get to old age.
Aside from that, walking is a pleasurable activity. It's healing. It's meditative. It connects you with nature and lets you get lost in thought. Walking is not some chore you must get through. The journey is the thing.
40
@NWwell.com
One of my favorite sayings is "Solvitur ambulando" - a Latin phrase that means "it is solved by walking. "
6
Finally, an exercise article by Gretchen that makes sense. Really glad to see the 4500, some days that is all I get. But I did swap my riding mower for a self propelled to get to 10,000
8
@Richard
Walking your dogs is good too.
2
figures don't lie but liars do figure. How does anyone have the nerve to report another study to guide health when 50% of the population is obese and if they don't already they will soon check blood sugar 6 times daily. The media made this epidemic.
1
@joan breibart - 'The media made this epidemic' ?
my understanding was it started with some guy in the US administration deciding to promote growing more corn for conversion into this new thing called high-fructose corn syrup - which has since been used in everything including McDonald's hamburger buns.
since the 1970s - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-fructose_corn_syrup
'fructose ... led to greater hunger and desire for food and a greater willingness to give up long-term monetary rewards to obtain immediate high-calorie foods' - https://journalistsresource.org/studies/environment/food-agriculture/high-fructose-corn-syrup-your-health/
'About 70% of high fructose corn syrup goes into beverage sweeteners .. this creates ... obesity ... drinking calories doesn’t produce the digestive “stop signals” that eating calories does' - http://www.philfilms.utm.edu/1/kingcorn.htm
sugar got cheaper, and people got fatter - https://www.salon.com/2015/01/04/coke_made_us_all_obese_mcdonalds_high_fructose_corn_syrup_and_the_sick_super_sized_strategy_to_make_you_fat/
blame Nixon ? - 'appointed Earl Butz ... pushed farmers into a new, industrial scale of production, and into farming one crop in particular: corn' - https://www.latimes.com/opinion/la-xpm-2012-jun-27-la-ol-nixon-obesity-epidemic-corn-20120627-story.html
'the US government is, in essence, subsidizing obesity and chronic disease' - https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/09/07/king-corn-documentary.aspx
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@joan breibart
There have been a number of studies now that show fit obese people have better health outcomes than unfit people of normal weight. Of course, it is best to be perfect in every way, but some people, for a variety of reasons, carry extra weight. Why not help people of all sizes improve their health? Encouraging movement is a good thing and helps with health outcomes no matter your weight. WHO calculates that there is more cost and a greater reduction in health due to poor diet and lack of exercise, than from excess BMI. So perhaps we could have less hating on the fat people, and promote healthy habits generally.
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The continuing debate between the KYO community (knock yourself out) and the ELBC community (every little bit counts.)
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And...for the millions of women (and men) who cannot afford a FitBit-like gadget to measure steps?
This info., as already suggested below, needs to be translated into both time and also distance.
(Let's keep an eye on our automatic economic assumptions, please!)
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@Kelly Grace Smith if you carry an iPhone as you walk, your steps can be counted in an App. I use HEALTH; it’s free and non complicated. Not sure if it’s available in the Google store but it’s definitely worth having to track your steps.
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@Kelly Grace Smith
I don't have a FilBit or anything similar and I don't have a smart phone. What I do have is a very good (Omron) pedometer which I just put in my pocket. Works very nicely.
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@Kelly Grace Smith One hour of walking at a normal pace, not fast, not too slow, is about 3 miles. This is equal to about 2,200 steps. Less steps if you're more fit, more steps if you're less fit or are going uphill.
Simple.
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I walk briskly about 3/4 of a mile everyday to and from parking lot to office, and then walk a LOT during the day to the coffee machine, bathroom, and sometimes up and down stairs as our offices are split among several floors. I wonder if that adds up to 4700 steps. It would be much more helpful to give people a rough conversion of steps to mileage/yards/city blocks or something else for the analog folks among us.
I once had one of those trackers and it made an annoying noise ticking off every step, and it stopped working. My budget doesn't include a Fitbit or Apple watch. Wonder if there's a decent old fashioned step tracker anyone could recommend.
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@Anne Hajduk, after trying a variety of unreliable step counters, I bought a Fitbit Zip which only tracks steps. It's inexpensive compared to the wrist versions of trackers.
4500 steps is 17 city blocks according to the website I just checked.
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@Ella
Figuring 20 city blocks to a mile, walking a mile in 20 minutes (a moderate pace) amounts to 5000+ steps. That's do-able almost every day, and very encouraging news.
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@Pat
Unfortunately, one mile is closer to 2000 steps, not 5000. Depending on your stride, of course.
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I’m waiting for the day when every medical study that includes only men includes a warning like this: “Of course, this study looked at older (men) and mortality. It is impossible to know if the findings apply likewise to men or younger people.”
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@Pat I noticed the same thing.
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I am now in a tropical country where it is too hot to walk outside so I walk almost every day in the shopping malls where there is air conditioning and it is much safer from falls and other hazards for someone of my advanced age. I suggest this as an alternative to rough sidewalks.
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