Just 7000 steps a day cuts health risks, study says



If you've got a phone or a fitness tracker, you're probably checking your steps each day. Reach 10,000 and you feel smug. Why? Well, we've been told it's the number to aim for - the threshold for health gains.



But a review of previous studies in medical journal The Lancet, involving data on160,000 adults worldwide, suggests a target of 7,000 steps brings plenty of health benefits, too, including reducing the risk of heart disease, dementia, depression, cancer and falls. The research found that even modest step counts of 4,000 per day were linked to better health, compared with very low activity of 2,000 a day.



For most health conditions, the benefits tended to level off beyond 7,000 steps, although there were additional advantages to walking further for the heart.



The review can't prove that daily steps alone reduce the risk of disease. Some of the findings were based on only a small number of studies, but they say encouraging people to track their steps is a practical way to improve their health. And adding a step count target into official exercise guidance could be useful for everyone.



词汇表

fitness tracker [ˈfɪtnəs ˈtrækə(r)] 健身追踪器（用于记录身体健康和活动的可穿戴设备）

smug [smʌɡ] 沾沾自喜的，自鸣得意的

threshold [ˈθreʃhəʊld] 门槛，界限，临界值

health gains [ɡeɪnz] 健康益处，健康收获

medical journal The Lancet [ˈlænsət] 医学杂志《柳叶刀》（全球知名的综合性医学学术期刊）

dementia [dɪˈmenʃə] 痴呆症，痴呆

modest [ˈmɒdɪst] 适度的，适中的

step count 步数

level off 趋平，趋于稳定



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