We recently reported about how the 10,000 steps recommendation isn’t based on science. And while the 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans suggest getting 150 minutes of moderate physical activity or 75 minutes of vigorous activity each week, there is evidence that you can get health benefits from smaller amounts.
For example, walking just 3,000 steps per day has been shown to increase longevity, power walking 4 to 5 minutes a day may decrease your risk of cancer, and walking for 2 minutes after meals can help stabilize your blood sugar. Other research suggests that just 10 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per day may help prevent cognitive decline.
Now, a new study published on February 21, 2024, in JAMA Cardiology adds to the body of evidence that suggests that smaller amounts of physical activity can have big health benefits.
How Was the Study Conducted?
Researchers pulled data from the Objective Physical Activity and Cardiovascular Health in Older Women study, which was conducted from March 2012 to April 2014. OPACH was a part of the larger Women’s Health Initiative Long-Life Study.
The OPACH study included 5,951 U.S. women, 63 to 99 years old, with no history of heart failure. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, heart failure occurs when the heart is not strong enough to efficiently pump enough blood and oxygen to other areas of the body. The women represented a range of race and ethnicity categories: 33.7% non-Hispanic Black, 17.2% Hispanic and 49.2% non-Hispanic White.
Participants all wore an accelerometer—which is basically a fancy pedometer that tracks all movement, not just steps—for seven days.
Researchers then followed up with the participants through February 2022 regarding heart failure incidents. Follow-up included self-reported hospitalization and medical record review.
To qualify as a heart failure (HF) incident, there must have been symptoms of HF, an HF diagnosis, initiation of HF treatment and an appropriate response to therapy.
After researchers adjusted for various factors, including preexisting conditions, several statistical analyses were run on the data.
“The major finding of our study was that greater amounts of usual daily light-and moderate-intensity activity were associated with a lower risk of developing heart failure over a seven-year time interval,” says the study’s lead author, Michael LaMonte, Ph.D., M.P.H., director of graduate studies and research professor at the University at Buffalo.
LaMonte explains that lighter activity includes self-care, house-care and caregiving, whereas moderate activity includes usual-pace walking, stair climbing and yard work.
“We found that 3,000 steps per day would be consistent with the amount of activity performed daily by study participants,” explains LaMonte.”This is far fewer steps than the often-recommended 10,000 steps per day, which might not be practical for older women to achieve.”
How Does This Apply to Real Life?
As the U.S. population ages and lives longer, the incidence of heart failure is likely to increase.
“This condition substantially reduces quality of life and costs a large amount of health care dollars to treat,” says LaMonte. “So prevention is a key to dealing with heart failure in the coming years.”
Part of that prevention is to simply move more. “Our findings suggest not to be discouraged, because fewer steps accumulated through usual daily activities seemed to help our older women avoid heart failure. Walking appears to be a promising component of heart failure prevention in older women that should be investigated further,” says LaMonte.
The Bottom Line
If your goal is to improve your fitness level and maintain a healthy weight, getting closer to the recommended 150 minutes of moderate-intensity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity exercise per week is advisable.
But if you’re simply looking to reduce your risk of disease, especially as you age, moving more throughout the day plays a starring role in disease prevention. This includes engaging in activities of daily living—like cooking, house-cleaning and gardening—and moving more by doing things like taking the stairs and parking farther from the store.
This study shows that racking up about 3,600 steps a day by engaging in these types of activities is enough to significantly reduce your risk of heart failure. So look for opportunities to be more active throughout the day, reduce your sedentary time and just move more.