There is ample evidence that walking reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes as well as other diseases such as cancer, heart disease, and dementia. The American Diabetes Association recommends taking 10,000 steps a day or walking at least 30 minutes a day to reduce your risk of diabetes. Walking at a faster pace may improve these benefits, but researchers have not yet determined the ideal pace.
An analysis published Tuesday in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that, regardless of distance or number of steps, walking at least 4 km/h can significantly reduce the risk of developing diabetes. type 2 Equivalent to brisk walking: about 87 steps per minute for men and 100 steps per minute for women. According to research, once people reach this threshold, their risk continues to decrease as they increase their speed. In the analysis, each 0.6 mph increase in walking speed was associated with a 9% reduced risk of type 2 diabetes. Meta-analysis of results from 10 studies with more than 500,000 people from the United States, Japan Japan, and the United Kingdom have reported. their walking habits. People who walk at an average pace of 2 to 3 miles per hour have a 15 percent lower risk of type 2 diabetes than those who walk at a slower pace, like going for a walk.
Brisk walking (3 to 4 mph) is associated with a 24% reduced risk of type 2 diabetes while walking (more than 4 mph) is associated with a 39% reduced risk. “While current strategies to increase walking time and increase the number of steps per day may be a good approach to reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes, good Above all, people should be encouraged to walk at a faster pace. ” of research and is a nutrition researcher at Semnan University of Medical Sciences in Iran. Brisk walking can reduce body fat, which in turn reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes. But Jayedi says that reducing body fat does not fully explain the reduced risk of the disease. diabetes in participants in his analysis. He said walking at a faster pace also helps reduce insulin resistance or increase tolerance to insulin, a hormone that helps regulate blood sugar levels.
“Increasing your walking speed not only increases your heart rate but also increases your muscle contractions,” says Dr. Frank Hu, chair of the department of nutrition at Harvard. This may help improve insulin sensitivity, which is important in preventing diabetes. ”DEMONS. Chan School of Public Health was not included in the analysis. In general, the Department of Health and Human Services recommends that people spend 150 to 300 minutes per week on moderate physical activity such as brisk walking or cycling, and 75 to 150 minutes per week on physical activity. vigorous exercise such as running or jogging, or some combination.
Walking at least 2.5 mph “might be a good goal for a person,” said Amanda Paluch, an epidemiologist and kinesiology researcher at the University of Massachusetts Amherst who was not involved in the study. number of people when active at moderate intensity. study. However, this speed can be difficult to achieve for some people, depending on their age, fitness, and health, she said. A good rule of thumb, says Paluch, is to walk at a pace where you can talk but not sing the lyrics to your favorite song a sign that your heart rate is high enough. According to Jochen Kressler, professor of exercise science and nutrition at San Diego State University, people can still reduce their risk of type 2 diabetes at speeds under 2.5 mph. The new analysis did not examine whether walking slowly reduced the risk of diabetes compared with not walking, he said.
“Don’t look at it as ‘If you don’t go fast enough, it won’t work. ‘ That is certainly not what is in this document. Doing something is better than doing nothing,” said Kressler, who was also not involved in the new study. Researchers tend to see the biggest improvements in health when people with the lowest activity levels start increasing their activity, he said. And the amount of exercise is often the most important, he adds. “The number of steps you take is probably more important than the speed at which you take them,” says Kressler. “But if you walk faster the same number of steps, you will feel better.”