Walking Quickly Crucial in Fighting Diabetes, Reveals Study

Walking regularly is known to help prevent diabetes, but a recent study tries to figure out the best speed for maximum benefits. The study suggests that adding a bit more speed to your walk could significantly reduce the risk of developing diabetes.

Only Benefits

It’s well known that exercise and walking are great for our health. A recent study found that taking just 2,337 steps a day can lower the risk of dying from heart disease, and around 4,000 steps daily can reduce the risk of death from any disease, including diabetes.

A study from 2023 found that doing a mix of aerobic and strength exercises for about 150 minutes per week, especially in the afternoons, can lower the chances of getting type II diabetes. Also, a previous study demonstrated that 61% of patients could reverse diabetes just by changing their diet and exercising.

To better understand how exercise benefits our health, a team of researchers from Iran, the UK, and Norway reviewed studies published until May 2023. After analyzing 10 suitable studies, they found that walking at a speed of 3-4 mph (5-6 km/h) lowered the risk of developing diabetes by 24% compared to those who walked at a slower speed of 2 mph (3 km/h). Even the slower walkers already experienced a 15% reduced risk of type II diabetes from their efforts.

Moreover, they discovered that walking even faster, at a speed exceeding 4 mph (6 km/h), significantly reduced the risk of diabetes by 39%. The researchers note that for every 1 km/h (0.6 mph) increase in walking speed, there was a 9% lower risk of developing type II diabetes. To give an idea, walking at 4 mph means taking around 8,000 steps in an hour.

A Moderate Chance of being Biased

Since this research involved analyzing other studies, the researchers advise being careful in understanding the results. They discovered that three of the studies they used had a moderate chance of being biased, and seven had serious biases. This was mainly because of how walking speed was reported and how they assessed other factors affecting the participants. Additionally, the researchers highlight that the connection between faster walking and lower diabetes risk may not necessarily be a direct cause. In simpler terms, individuals who naturally walk faster might just be healthier overall compared to those who walk at a slower pace.

Facts

However, the researchers believe their findings are important because they analyzed information from 508,121 adults in the UK, USA, and Japan over three to eleven years. This data has been published in the peer-reviewed British Journal of Medicine. It’s significant, given that the number of adults dealing with diabetes in 2021 was 537 million, and it’s estimated to rise to 783 million by 2045.

Walking at a Good Pace

The researchers found that walking at a good pace, regardless of how much total physical activity or time spent walking each day, could be linked to a lower risk of type 2 diabetes in adults. They suggest that while increasing the overall time spent walking is helpful, it might also be a good idea to encourage people to walk at faster speeds to maximize the health benefits of walking.

Read the Original Article: NEW ATLAS

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