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Sitting for long periods of time is a common practice in today's society, and it poses significant risks to physical health. Prolonged sitting not only leads to obesity, cervical spondylosis, lumbar spondylosis, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and other conditions, but it can also potentially affect life expectancy.
Prolonged sitting has been classified by the World Health Organization as one of the culprits of fatal and debilitating diseases. What methods can be used to reduce the harm caused by prolonged sitting? The simplest way is actually to walk more.
Recently, researchers from the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at the University of Sydney published a study in the "British Journal of Sports Medicine," which indicated that regardless of the duration of sitting, walking can help reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases and overall mortality.
The researchers conducted an average 6.9-year follow-up study of 72,174 subjects with an average age of 61.1 from the UK Biobank. Based on the duration of sitting, all participants were divided into two groups: those who sat for more than 10.5 hours and those who sat for less than 10.5 hours. They were also categorized based on the number of steps walked per day into three groups: walking less than 4000 steps, 4000-8000 steps, and over 8000 steps. The results showed that:
Compared to those who sat for less than 10.5 hours, individuals who sat for more than 10.5 hours per day were more likely to have lipid abnormalities and hypertension, leading to cardiovascular diseases.
After controlling for various influencing factors, the researchers found that compared to those who sat for a long time, individuals who sat for shorter periods had a higher risk of cardiovascular events and overall mortality. However, walking more can reduce these risks, especially when walking 9000-10300 steps per day.
In light of this, the researchers believe that walking promotes venous return in the lower limbs, blood circulation, and protects the heart. Additionally, walking enhances cardiorespiratory function, exercises body coordination, balance, and more, all of which promote overall cardiovascular and physical health, thereby reducing the risk of cardiovascular diseases.
Similarly, a study published in the medical journal "Circulation," which included data from 8 prospective studies involving 20,152 adults with an average age of 63.2 from 43 countries, found a correlation between walking more and a decrease in the risk of cardiovascular diseases over a 6.2-year follow-up period.
However, this effect was not significant in the population under 60 years old, but it was significant for those over 60. Participants who walked an average of 3823 steps, 5520 steps, and 9259 steps, compared to a group that walked an average of 1811 steps, saw a 20%, 38%, and 49% reduction in the risk of cardiovascular diseases, respectively.
So, what kind of walking can achieve a more ideal effect? The World Health Organization has provided a "three-five-seven" principle.
"3" means walking 3 kilometers per day, which is about 5000 steps, and this distance should be completed in about half an hour.
"5" means walking no less than 5 times per week, aiming to maintain a frequency of 5-6 times.
"7" means that during walking, the heart rate plus age should be greater than 170, which can lead to better exercise effects without placing additional burden on health.
