A new study has calculated how long it takes to walk daily to reduce the risk of developing diabetes
Don't store avocado like this: it's dangerousDiabetes, we fight walking. The experts of the Pennington Biomedical Research Center of Baton Rouge, Louisiana and of Washington University di Seattle, according to which 2 thousand steps a day are enough to ward off (type 2) disease
Other previous studies had also found a direct connection between the amount of physical activity performed and the risk of developing the diabetes. But for the first time this factor has been quantified. Catrine Tudor-Locke, who participated in the research, explained that the classic recommendations on daily walks useful for warding off diabetes referred to a minimum of 10.000 steps. But much less would be enough, just 2 thousand, just over a kilometer.
People who exercise little physical activity have a higher risk of diabetes, while those who walk more and every day are less likely to develop it. To find out how much you need to walk in terms of anti-diabetes benefitsAmanda Fretts, lead author of the report asked more than 1.800 people to wear a pedometer for a week to calculate the number of steps that were typically taken each day. All subjects came from communities of natives American of Arizona, Oklahoma, North and South Dakota, known for associating low levels of physical activity with high rates of diabetes.
About a quarter of the group performed a level of physical activity very low, with less than 3.500 steps per day, while half made up to 7.800 steps per day. At the start of the study, none of the participants had diabetes. But after five years of follow-up, 243 people were noted to have developed the disease. About 17 percent of the population affected by diabetes did little sport. After taking into account other factors including age and smoking, Fretts' team determined that people who walked more had a 29 percent reduced risk of developing diabetes, compared with those who walked less.
The results do not show however that walking more prevents with absolute certainty diabetes, but Fretts and colleagues offered some possible explanations for how walking might help: "More physical activity can prevent weight gain and promote weight loss, a determinant of diabetes risk," he said. said to Reuters Health.
The study was published in Diabetes Care.
Francesca Mancuso
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