For these researchers, "the message is clear": a single long march is better than several short ones.
Exercise is good for your health, and there's no doubt about it. Walking is one of the most studied physical activities for its benefits. We know, for example, that the more steps you take during the day, the better (although you don't need to take 10,000 to reap the benefits). What's less well known is whether taking one long walk or several short ones throughout the day has the same impact on your health. Looking for the answer? Researchers have conducted a study on just that.
To do this, they analyzed the health data of nearly 34,000 adults who took 8,000 steps or fewer per day and who were followed for about 10 years. The participants were divided into several groups: those who took their steps in periods of less than 5 minutes; 5 to less than 10 minutes; 10 to less than 15 minutes; and 15 minutes or more.
The result is clear: "People who accumulated the majority of their steps in longer periods had lower risks of all-cause mortality and cardiovascular disease than those whose steps were mainly taken in shorter periods," report the authors of the study published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine .
In detail, participants who accumulated their steps mainly in periods of less than 5 minutes had a cumulative risk of cardiovascular disease over 9.5 years of 13%, compared to 7.7% for periods of 10 to 15 minutes, and 4.4% for periods of 15 minutes or more. The risk of mortality increased by 4% in the group of walks of less than 5 minutes compared to 0.8% for walks of 15 minutes or more.
While the results of this research still need to be confirmed, "for clinicians, the message is clear: in addition to encouraging patients (especially those who are less active) to increase their total step count, it may also be important to recommend 10- to 15-minute walking sessions, or at least to take most of their daily steps in a row," the study authors write.
This doesn't mean you have to be sedentary all day and only take one walk during the day! The French National Agency for Health Safety recently recommended walking for about 5 minutes every 30 minutes. In short, the ideal would be to do at least 30 minutes of physical activity per day, preferably in one long session rather than a multitude of short ones, and to avoid a sedentary lifestyle as much as possible by getting up every 30 minutes.
L'Internaute
