Higher step count can lower early death risk

Physical activity is always good for your health and plain old walking remains to be one of the easiest ways to keep fit and now researchers have found that higher step counts are associated with a lower risk of early death.
The study, published in the Journal JAMA, found that the number of steps a person takes each day, and not the intensity of stepping, had a strong association with mortality.
“While we knew physical activity is good for you, we didn’t know how many steps per day you need to take to lower your mortality risk or whether stepping at a higher intensity makes a difference,” said study first author Pedro Saint-Maurice from National Cancer Institute (NCI) in the US.
“We wanted to investigate this question to provide new insights that could help people better understand the health implications of the step counts they get from fitness trackers and phone apps,” Saint-Maurice added.
Previous studies have been done on step counts and mortality.
However, they were conducted primarily with older adults or among people with debilitating chronic conditions.
Being physically active has many benefits, including reducing a person’s risk of obesity, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and some cancers.
And on a daily basis, it can help people feel better and sleep better, the researcher said. (IANS)