Each step counts when it comes to your health – but a new study suggests achieving a specific number every day can decrease the risk of cancer.
And no, it’s not 10,000.
It turns out that the magical number we are all chasing was not discovered in a laboratory. In fact, it was dreamed in the 1960s as a smart marketing tactic to sell pedometers in Japan.
The good news is that the latest recommendations are supported by the UK Solid Science.
The large study followed more than 85,000 participants who used activity trackers, measuring the amount and intensity of their daily movement for an average of six years.
The researchers focused on 13 cancers and identified a clear trend: the more you move, the lower your risk.
During the six -year monitoring period, 3% of participants developed cancer. The most common were colon, rectal and lung in men, along with breast, colon, endometrial and lung in women.
The study found that people who ran 7,000 steps a day had a lower risk of cancer compared to those recording only 5,000.
With 9,000 steps, the risk fell more to 16% – but besides, the benefits levels.
The results were constant even after the researchers were responsible for demographic, health and lifestyle factors, indicating that it was the very steps that made a difference.
“Giving more steps to your routine, especially during halftime, can be one of the simplest ways to reduce the risk of developing certain types of cancer,” wrote Dr. Mhairi Morris, senior biochemistry professor at Loughborough University, who was not involved in studying study.
Aren’t a fan of power walk? No problem. If you prefer a leisure ride, you are still doing your body a favor.
While the researchers found that a faster pace was linked to a lower risk of cancer, as general levels of activity were taken into consideration, speed really didn’t matter.
Participants who exchanged time sitting for physical activity also saw a drop in cancer risk. However, increasing moderate light intensity has not provided many additional benefits.
“Our research highlights the importance of all forms of movement,” said Aiden Doherty, Professor of Biomedical Informatics at Oxford Population Health and senior author of the study in a statement.
“Whether increasing the daily steps, engaging in light activities or incorporating moderate to vigorous exercises, any level of physical activity seems to contribute to a lower risk of cancer,” he continued.
This study occurs at the moment that many ordinary cancers, such as breast, kidney, colorectal and uterine cancer, are on the rise in the US.
Although the increase is multifactorial, experts point to increased obesity rates and an increasingly sedentary lifestyle as the main factors of the growing risk of cancer – especially among young people.
Throughout the country, more than 2 in 5 adults have obesity, along with 1 in 5 children and adolescents.
The Department of Health and Human Services recommends that adults receive at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise each week, as well as muscle strengthening activities, such as weightlifting at least twice a week.
However, according to CDC data, more than two -thirds of Americans are not reaching these benchmarks.
“Our findings support and improve the current guidelines for national and international physical activity, showing that people who usually get involved in simple low -intensity activities, such as walking, have a lower risk of developing cancer,” said Doherty.
The American Cancer Society estimates that more than 2 million new cases will be diagnosed in the US in 2025 and more than 618,000 people will die from the disease. There are approximately 1,700 cancer deaths every day across the country.
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