Forget 10,000 steps, just 3,500 enough everyday for good health

While it is a fact that any amount of walking is far better than not walking, for a typical healthy individual with no knee pains and any other co-morbid health conditions, a one-hour of walking per day will do wonders

Hyderabad: Whether you are an individual struggling with chronic ailments or a typical healthy person, walking invariably is the first step towards the path of fitness and health. However, quite often, we tend to forget that walking is a form of exercise that requires some attention to finer details of how much to walk, what should be the intensity and importantly, should taking 10,000 steps in a day mandatory?

While it is a fact that any amount of walking is far better than not walking, for a typical healthy individual with no knee pains and any other co-morbid health conditions, a one-hour of walking per day will do wonders.

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“However, for people with knee pain, heart problems or any other disease and those who are overweight or obese, even 5 to 10 minutes of walking per day will do wonders. What studies have shown is that benefits starts from as little as 3,500 steps per day. Even though there is a lot of attention to 10,000 steps per day, taking just 3,500 steps per day will also reduce the risk of heart attacks, strokes and increases longevity,” says noted neurologist and public health expert from Hyderabad, Dr Sudhir Kumar.

An accomplished long-distance runner himself, Dr Sudhir points out that somewhere around 9,600 steps to 10,000 steps, the health benefits start hitting a plateau. “Beyond 10,000 steps per day, too much health benefits are not seen. Maximum health benefits of walking are seen in persons who are sedentary and have started walking,” he says.

If you are one of those people who love walking more, then don’t have to worry. Unlike running, there is absolutely no harm in walking extra. If you do a lot of running, there is some risk of injuries but not in walking, Dr Sudhir points out.

What should be your walking intensity?

For healthy individuals, a maximum pace of 5 kilometres per hour is ideal, which means if a person walks for an hour, then they should complete 5K. If you are into counting steps, then they should exceed 100 steps per minute. The ideal pace that one must look for is 6000 steps in an hour or 3000 steps in 30 minutes.

“Another way to fine tune walking intensity is to vary the pace. Instead of walking all the time at a brisk/ fast pace, one can slow walk for a while and then walk fast. Varying pace helps in increasing the intensity,” Dr Sudhir advises.

Walking backward (not on main roads but in safe parks or grounds) also helps to strengthen a different set of muscle groups. “If somebody is walking backward for the first time, they should walk gently. It helps to strengthen different muscle groups,” he points out.