Study: 10,000 steps might not be enough for healthy life

The standard for a healthy amount of exercise has widely been accepted as 10,000 steps a day. However, new research shows this might not be enough.

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Researchers in Scotland looked at postal workers and tracked how many steps a day they took — their average was 15,000, according to The New York Times.

Those who achieved the 15,000 steps, or about seven miles, showed no increased risk of heart disease and had normal waistlines, the International Journal of Obesity found.

Those who sit longer throughout the day had increased health concerns. After five hours of sitting a day, each additional hour in a chair boosted risk of heart disease by 0.2 percent, Newser reported.

“Our metabolism is not well-suited to sitting down all the time,” Dr. William Tigbe, who led the study, told The Times.

So Tigbe suggests people hit the target of 15,000 steps by attacking it “in bits” or taking 30-minute walks compared to 2-hour walks, The Times reported.

Read more at The New York Times.

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