(NewsNation) — Lacing up your sneakers and walking, no matter where or for how long, could reduce your risk for cancer, heart disease and early death, according to a new study.
While researchers from the University of Sydney and the University of Southern Denmark found that health benefits peaked at 10,000 steps, distances as short as walking from the sofa to the kitchen, getting your laundry out of the dryer and getting coffee all count.
Researchers monitored 78,500 UK adults between 2013 and 2015 using wearable trackers and compared this with their health outcomes seven years later. The results were published in the journals JAMA Internal Medicine and JAMA Neurology.
“Walking helps almost every organ in the body,” said Dr. Raj Dasgupta.
Heart disease is the leading cause of death for men and women. Risk factors include high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes and high cholesterol. Dasgupta said walking can help reduce those risks.
“Getting those extra steps decreases your blood pressure, a huge risk factor, losing that weight will help control your blood sugar, if you’re a Type 2 diabetic, lower that cholesterol.
“When we talk about walking, it relaxes you both mentally and physically, and what you’re doing during the day definitely helps you at night to get you some good sleep,” Dasgupta said.
