Individuals with Type II diabetes could cut their risk of heart disease by about eight percent by increasing the amount of daily steps they take by 2,000.
Two-thousand steps are about the equivalent of a 20 minute walk, a Daily Exchange news release reported.
"People with [impaired glucose tolerance, a precursor to diabetes] have a greatly increased risk of cardiovascular disease," study leader doctor Thomas Yates from the University of Leicester said in The Lancet. "While several studies have suggested that physical activity is beneficially linked to health in those with IGT, this is the first study to specifically quantify the extent to which change in walking behaviour can modify the risk of heart disease, stroke, and cardiovascular-related deaths."
The research team reviewed data from 9, 306 adults from 40 countries who struggled with impaired glucose tolerance [IGT] and cardiovascular disease or risk factors.
All of the participants were asked to implement some healthy lifestyle changes such as exercise and wear a pedometer, which tracks the number of steps taken. The subjects were asked to increase their physical activity to about 150 minutes a week.
A statistical model was used to assess the link between the number of steps taken per day and the risk of cardiovascular disease. It also eliminated variables such as lifestyle choices.
The team found increasing the number of steps taken per day reduced the risk of heart disease. For every 2,000 steps taken there was a decrease in risk of eight percent.
"Our results provide novel evidence that changing physical activity levels through simply increasing the number of steps taken can substantially reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, such as heart attack and stroke. Importantly, these benefits are seen regardless of bodyweight status or the starting level of activity. These novel findings provide the strongest evidence yet for the importance of physical activity in high risk populations and will inform diabetes and cardiovascular disease prevention [programs] worldwide," Yates said.
