A new study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine suggests that you should choose one long walk over a few short strolls to keep your heart healthy. This is especially if you do not exercise much. Walking for at least 15 minutes without a stop is ideal, notes the study. This means you walk for 1,500 steps in a row. This is said to give your heart a good workout. The study also notes that many people who walk 10,000 steps a day, actually follow the number that came from a Japanese pedometer advertisement, and not necessarily science, also reported by BBC. However, experts do agree that more steps are generally better for your health. How Was The Study Conducted?The study analyzed 33,560 adults who were aged 40 to 79 in the UK. They walked fewer than 8,000 steps a day. These people were grouped by how long their walks were and was measured with a step-counter over a week:Less than 5 minutes (43%)5 to 10 minutes (33.5%)10 to 15 minutes (15.5%)15 minutes or more (8%)The data was collected after tracking the participants for eight years. This was done by the researchers from the University of Sydney and the Universidad Europea in Spain. What Did The Study Find?The study found that people who walked in longer stretches had a lower risk of heart problems than those who take short strolls. Even those who are the least active, for instance, those who walk under 5,000 steps a day, longer walks make a big difference for them. The study noted that for them too, the risk of heart disease and death drop significantly. However, the study cannot guarantee that this change is because they were already fitter to begin with. However, the researchers did study this factor including whether the person smoked, was obese or had high cholesterol. How You Walk Matters More Than How Much You WalkThe researchers also noted that the way you walk could actually matter more than how much you walk. The answer is walk for a longer time, even if you do not walk that much overall. You could implement simple changes, including setting some time aside for a longer walk. The Co-lead research Prom Emmanuel Stamatakis said, "We tend to place all the emphasis on the number of steps or the total amount of walking but neglect the crucial role of patterns, for example 'how' walking is done. This study shows that even people who are very physically inactive can maximise their heart health benefit by tweaking their walking patterns to walk for longer at a time, ideally for at least 10-15 minutes, when possible."The National Health Service, UK, also recommends 150 minutes of moderate activity per week. This could be brisk walking, which could be spread out across the week. Older adults, especially those who are over 65, are recommended to try to move a little more every day, even if it is to do some household activities.A senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, Emily McGrath told BBS, "Exercise helps everyone live a happier and healthier life. If you have heart and circulatory disease, it can help you manage your condition and make you feel better overall. You may find it hard to be more active at first, but as time goes on it'll get easier as your body gets used to the activity. You may only notice small improvements at first, but it all adds up and counts towards keeping your heart healthy."
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