Good health may just be a as easy as a walk in the park. A new study suggests that moving 6,000 or more steps a day adds up to a healthier life for midlife women. It does not matter whether these steps were taken on a treadmill or for a stroll down the road. Once those many number of steps have been walked, the exercise reduces risk of diabetes and metabolic syndrome— as per a study published online Menopause, the journal of the North American Menopause Society.
We have always known that going to the gym, training under an instructor and following a rigorous schedule as recommended by physical trainers helps stay fitter. But this research team studied just habitual physical activity whether it comes from exercising or just activities of daily living. The results indicate the even regular physical activity also helps a lead healthier life.
In Passo Fundo, Brazil, 292 women who were 45 to 72 years old wore pedometers and recorded their daily steps. They also had health checks such as cholesterol and blood sugar and waist and hip measurement —abdominal obesity is a risk factors for diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Women who took 6,000 or more steps per day were considered active and those who took fewer inactive.
The active women were much less likely than the inactive ones to be obese and have metabolic syndrome or diabetes, whether or not they had gone through menopause–when these risks usually go up–and whether or not they were using hormone therapy.