Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston have examined the health impact of step targets. The team studied 14,399 US women aged 62 or over, finding those in the top 25% in terms of activity levels reduced their risk of heart disease or death by between 30% and 40%. However, the researchers concluded that it was more important to select a goal that worked for an individual’s lifestyle, than to choose between minutes or steps.
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Researchers have concluded that it is more important to set a fitness goal that suits a person’s lifestyle than to choose between minutes or steps. The team from Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston analysed 14,399 US women of 62 years and older, finding that the most active 25% had a reduced risk of death or cardiovascular disease of between 30% and 40%. However, the team noted that this was more likely to be down to promoting well-being rather than because of step count or duration.
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Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston found that choosing between steps or minutes may not be as important as setting a fitness goal that fits into an individual’s lifestyle. To determine this, the team studied 14,399 US women of 62 years and older, finding that the most active 25% had a reduced risk of death or cardiovascular disease of between 30% and 40%. The team suggested, therefore, that goals are best tailored to the individual’s preferences, abilities and lifestyle.
According to a recent study conducted at a Boston hospital, researchers have examined whether it is more effective to measure exercise goals in minutes or steps. Lead study author Dr. Rikuta Hamaya, who works in the Division of Preventive Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, explains that current physical activity guidelines primarily focus on activity duration and intensity and lack step-based recommendations. With the increasing use of smartwatches to track steps and overall health, the researchers aimed to ascertain how step-based measurements compare to time-based targets in their association with health outcomes.
The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans state that adults should aim for 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity and two days of muscle strengthening a week. However, expert recommendations on step counts have varied based on research. In the latest analysis published in JAMA Internal Medicine, 14,399 healthy women aged 62 years and older wore devices to record their physical activity for seven consecutive days between 2011 and 2015.
The researchers found that participants typically engaged in 62 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity per week, accumulating 5,183 steps a day. During the nine-year follow-up period, approximately 9% of participants had died, and about 4% had developed cardiovascular disease. The most active 25% of participants, whether measured by step counts or time, reduced their risk for death or cardiovascular disease by 30% to 40% compared to the least active quarter. Additionally, those in the top 75% of physical activity outlived those in the bottom quartile by about two months.
Ultimately, the researchers concluded that choosing between steps or minutes may not be as important as setting a fitness goal that fits into one’s lifestyle. Dr. Hamaya suggests that exercise may involve various activities that can be easily tracked with steps for some individuals, such as tennis, soccer, walking, or jogging. However, for others, exercise may consist of bike rides or swimming, where monitoring the duration of exercise is simpler. Therefore, physical activity guidelines should offer multiple ways to reach goals since movement looks different for everyone, and nearly all forms of movement are beneficial to our health.
Dr. Hamaya’s team plans to collect more data on time- and step-based metrics and expand the sample size, which was predominantly composed of white women of higher socioeconomic status. The next iteration of the federal physical activity guidelines is planned for 2028.
In my opinion, this study sheds light on the ongoing debate about how to measure exercise goals effectively. It is interesting to see that both time and step counts can lead to positive health outcomes, and the choice may ultimately depend on an individual’s preferences and lifestyle. By offering multiple ways to reach fitness goals, physical activity guidelines can better accommodate a diverse range of activities and provide more inclusive recommendations. This study emphasizes the importance of finding a form of exercise that suits one’s interests and needs, as it is the consistency and engagement that ultimately contribute to improved health outcomes.
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