How many steps per day required for healthy lifestyle? Find out

It has been suggested for a long time that 10,000 steps a day are a minimum requirement to stay fit and healthy. However, what if we told you that you can lead a healthy lifestyle with less than 5,000 steps a day?

A team from the Medical University of Lodz in Poland and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in the US conducted a study with more than 226,000 people, concluding that around 4,000 steps are enough to reduce various health scares. Every extra 1,000 steps after that will help reduce the risk of dying early by 15 per cent up to 20,000 steps.

Going by the study, more than 2,300 steps are enough to boost our heart health. While the walking benefits applied to all genders and ages, the most benefits were seen among people under the age of 60.

A professor from Lodz University, Maciej Banach revealed that while the number of advanced drugs for treatment is growing, it is not the only answer, and lifestyle change is most effective in reducing cardiovascular risk and prolonging lives.

According to the World Health Organization data, lack of physical activity is responsible for 3.2 million people passing away each year, making it the fourth most common cause of death across the world. Personal trainer Honey Fine also shed light on the issues which can arise from sitting down too much.

During an interaction with BBC, she revealed that sitting too much can slow metabolism and affect muscle growth and strength, leading to aches and pains. She was quoted as saying, "Sitting down for too long can also cause all sorts of back problems, we find this a lot with people with office jobs, that their backs are constantly put in a stressed compressed position which causes a lot more problems later on in life."

Honey Fine further emphasised the importance of non-exercise activity thermogenesis, also known as Neat. In layman's terms, it includes everything we do that consumes energy and ends up burning calories. She revealed that tasks such as standing, carrying shopping bags, washing the floors, hoovering, and pacing while talking on the phone are some of the simple things that can make a person stay active.