Walking Steps and Health: The Best Choices for Different Age Groups

On the journey of pursuing a healthy lifestyle, walking, as a simple and accessible form of exercise, is highly favored by people. But do you know that the appropriate number of walking steps varies for different age groups? Today, let's take an in - depth look at this.

For people aged 18 to 60, walking 8,000 to 10,000 steps per day is more appropriate. This range of steps has many benefits for physical health. From a professional medical perspective, an adequate number of steps can effectively enhance cardiopulmonary function. During walking, the heart needs to beat more powerfully to supply blood to all parts of the body, and the lungs will also increase their breathing rate to take in more oxygen. Over time, the cardiopulmonary function is exercised. At the same time, walking can promote metabolism. The body's metabolic system is like a precise machine. Through continuous exercise, such as walking, this machine can operate more smoothly, accelerating the excretion of waste in the body and making the absorption and utilization of nutrients more efficient. Moreover, an appropriate number of steps can also improve muscle strength. With each step taken, the muscles in the legs, hips, and other parts are contracting and relaxing regularly. With long - term persistence, muscle strength will naturally be enhanced. More importantly, research shows that this range of steps can effectively reduce the risk of death and safeguard our health.

When we enter the age group of over 60, the body's functions gradually decline. At this time, walking 6,000 to 8,000 steps per day is advisable. For the elderly in this age group, the bearing capacity of the body's joints, bones, etc. is not as good as when they were young. Appropriately reducing the number of steps can avoid overburdening the joints. Just like the old items in our homes, after being used for a long time, they need to be taken care of more carefully. Similarly, the joints of the elderly, after years of wear and tear, are no longer so tough. Excessive steps may cause joint pain and other problems. However, this does not mean that the amount of exercise should be significantly reduced. 6,000 to 8,000 steps can still achieve a very good exercise effect. It helps to maintain the flexibility and stability of the body, making the elderly more mobile in daily life and reducing the probability of accidents such as falls. At the same time, it can also play a certain preventive role in cardiovascular diseases, reducing the risk of cardiovascular diseases and enabling the elderly to have a healthier physical condition.

So, what are the data on the walking steps of long - lived elderly people? A study was conducted on middle - aged and elderly women over 45 years old and found that when they walked about 4,400 steps per day, the mortality rate decreased significantly. However, when the number of steps exceeded 7,500, the effect of reducing the mortality rate did not change significantly. There was also a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association on 18,000 elderly American women, and the results showed that walking 7,500 steps per day was the most beneficial for health and longevity. But we should be clear that these data are only a rough reference. After all, longevity is affected by a combination of many factors. Whether the diet is balanced, whether there are good living habits, such as regular work and rest, quitting smoking and limiting alcohol, as well as genetic factors, etc., all play a key role in it. We must not simply measure whether a person can live a long life by the number of steps.