The results are in from a study of real-world data collected from the wearable devices of 6,042 people in the US – and it seems that taking more steps every day really can reduce your risk of developing certain types of diseases.
Obesity, DiabetesHigh blood pressure DepressionAccording to this new study, there are several health issues you can avoid by increasing your daily activity, including sleep apnea, according the latest research.
While previous studiesSimilar conclusions have been reached. This is the first piece of research that was based on commercial activity monitoring devices. These devices are used every day and can be linked to electronic health records (EHRs) in this instance. All of UsResearch program.
These data provide “new, empiric evidence regarding activity levels associated with chronic diseases risk” and suggest that EHR integration of data from commercial wearables may be beneficial to support clinical care. Publication of paper.
A participant’s activity level averaged out to four years. This was based on those who had worn their Fitbit for ten hours or more per day for at minimum six months.
The group was then compared to the rate of disease in general by comparing daily steps and intensity.
Results showed that the risk of developing most conditions decreased as people walked more. The exception was for hypertension and diabetes – in these two cases, once individuals reached around 8,000 to 9,000 steps per day, the benefit of adding more steps plateaued.
For serious conditions such as obesity, sleep apnea or gastroesophageal acid disease (GERD), 8,200 steps is the ideal amount.
Researchers also discovered that obese people who increased their daily step count from 6,000 to 11,000 were 64 per cent less likely to be overweight than those who kept the same number of steps.
Although these statistics don’t prove a direct cause-and effect relationship (there are many other factors too), they do show that taking extra steps and increasing intensity can decrease your risk of getting sick.
The past studies had focused on activity for short periods using research-grade devices. They looked at health outcomes decades or even decades later. However, this research was able analyze years worth of activity data taken daily by patients with their own wearable devices. It linked to current diagnostic records.
“Although there are some differences between research-grade and business devices, the data from the latter can be used to provide a broad range of information for a large proportion of those who have such devices.” Send your research to researchers.
Despite this, the participants in the study were mostly young, white, and female. They also owned Fitbit devices, and were on average more active than most adults. However, the study authors consider this a positive.
“The fact that we were capable of detecting strong associations between steps, incident disease, and this active sample suggests that stronger associations may exist for a more sedentary population.”
They want to do more research with larger and more diverse populations, including people with higher activity levels than the general population.
According to previous studies, it is sufficient to walk several thousand steps per day. Help you live longer – and even random and sporadic bursts of activity It can be very beneficialAs well as regular, planned and consistent walking.
According to the researchers, daily exercise routines could be included in personalized health plans. With consumer wearables and associated apps capable of providing 24/7 monitoring, they can also help with personal fitness.
These findings are a real-world evidence base for clinical guidance about activity levels to reduce disease risk, even though validation is necessary in a larger population. Send your research to researchers.
The research has been published in Nature Medicine.
