A new study published in JAMA Internal Medicine suggests that exercise offers significant health benefits regardless of whether people track their progress by minutes or steps. The study, which followed over 14,000 women participating in Brigham and Women’s Hospital’s Women’s Health Study, found that both high step counts and minutes of physical activity were associated with a decreased risk of death and heart disease. The most active quarter of women had a 30% to 40% risk reduction compared to the least active women, regardless of whether they focused on steps or minutes.
The researchers noted that while both methods of tracking exercise have their advantages, step counts may not account for different physical levels or activities like biking and swimming, which are easier to monitor by time. Older individuals may get a significant portion of their daily activity through steps from everyday tasks like cleaning and running errands. The study also found that participants in the top 75% of activity levels outlived those in the bottom 25% by 2.22 months for those with more minutes and 2.36 months for those with more steps, regardless of BMI.
Insufficient physical activity levels contribute to 3.2 million deaths globally every year, making it the fourth most common cause of death worldwide. The World Health Organization reports that 23% of adults and 81% of school-aged children are not active enough. The study’s lead author, Dr. Rikuta Hamaya, emphasized the importance of comparing step-based measurements to time-based targets in association with health outcomes and suggested that step-based exercise goals be considered for future health guidelines alongside time-based goals.
The U.S.’s current health guidelines recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity per week or 75 minutes of vigorous activity. These recommendations do not take the number of steps into account, but the researchers believe step-based goals should be considered for future guidelines based on their findings. Research has shown that walking 10,000 steps a day is linked to lower dementia and heart disease risks, but more recent studies suggest that it may take fewer steps to maintain a healthy lifestyle. A study from 2023 found that getting a little over 2,300 steps a day has significant heart benefits, and every additional 1,000 steps over 4,000 decreases the risk of early death by 15% up to 20,000 steps.
In a tangential finding, fitness and smartwatches may aid in weight loss efforts. Participants who wore research-grade fitness watches lost an average of about 10 pounds over 12 weeks, while those wearing commercial-grade watches like Fitbits and Apple Watches lost an average of six pounds according to a 2021 study. Researchers believe that fitness trackers can help people lose weight by serving as a constant reminder of their health goals and providing an easy way to track their progress over time.
