New Study Highlights Health Benefits of Longer Walking Sessions
Recent research indicates that extending the duration of daily walks can significantly enhance heart health and reduce mortality risk. The findings, released in the Annals of Internal Medicine, reveal that adults who accumulate their daily steps in longer walking sessions, specifically those lasting 15 minutes or more, experience notably lower risks of heart disease and premature death compared to those who engage in several shorter walks throughout the day.
Research Overview
The study, conducted by an international team of researchers, analyzed data from 33,560 adults with an average age of 62 living in the United Kingdom. Participants wore wrist accelerometers—a type of device that tracks physical activity—over three to seven days from 2013 to 2015, gathering comprehensive data on their daily movement patterns.
Participants were divided into four groups based on how they accumulated their steps:
- Less than 5 minutes
- 5 to less than 10 minutes
- 10 to less than 15 minutes
- 15 minutes or more
The largest group, comprising 42.9% of participants, recorded most of their steps in bouts shorter than five minutes. After nearly a decade of follow-up, the results revealed a stark contrast in health outcomes: those who walked in longer bouts had the lowest likelihood of dying during the study period.
‘Doses’ of Walking
Co-lead author Borja del Pozo Cruz, a professor from Universidad Europea de Madrid, refers to these different walking durations as “doses.” He emphasizes that there is a clear relationship between the duration of walking bouts and health outcomes, stating, “The longer the bout, the better it is for the different health outcomes that we analyzed.”
This approach of measuring health through step accumulation patterns rather than total step count or physical activity intensity is particularly user-friendly. Del Pozo Cruz points out that virtually everyone can track their steps using common technology, making the findings more relatable and actionable for the general public.
Rethinking Daily Step Goals
The long-standing goal of achieving 10,000 steps a day, often touted as a benchmark for physical fitness, is now being challenged. Steven Riechman, an associate professor at Texas A&M University, argues that this number has more to do with marketing fitness devices than scientific evidence. He explains that brief walking bouts of less than five minutes do not engage the body’s systems fully, which may account for the lesser health benefits observed in participants who primarily engaged in shorter walks.
In the study, participants averaging less than 8,000 steps per day were labeled as “suboptimally active,” while those falling below 5,000 steps were classified as sedentary. The median step count among those studied was 5,165, highlighting a significant gap in physical activity levels.
Health Risks Among Different Walking Durations
The study also found that sedentary individuals showed the most substantial health improvements when engaging in longer walking bouts. Those who walked for less than five minutes had a risk of death during the study period at 5.13%, compared to just 0.86% for those who walked for over 15 minutes. Similarly, heart disease risk was markedly higher among those with shorter walking durations.
A Shift from Short Bouts to Longer Walking Sessions
While some previous studies have endorsed “exercise snacks,” or brief bursts of physical activity, the current research suggests that unstructured, low-intensity activity—including daily chores and errands—may not provide the same health benefits as structured longer walks. Riechman supports the idea that even short walks are better than none, yet stresses that maximizing the benefits comes from engaging in longer walking sessions.
Walking: A Timeless Activity
Despite the study’s limitations, such as a predominantly white participant pool and potential fluctuations in walking patterns over time, Carmen Swain from Ohio State University notes its robustness, particularly given the average age of participants. She emphasizes that regardless of age, it is never too late to start walking. The physiological changes and health improvements from walking can occur at any age, making it a crucial activity for older adults.
As heart disease continues to be a leading health concern, Swain hopes that the findings will motivate individuals to embrace walking as an accessible and effective form of exercise. “Walking is so democratic. You can just do it wherever you want, whenever you want, however you want,” she states. “It’s a good form of exercise.”