One study reports that walking 10,000 steps a day is associated with a significant reduction in the risk of developing cancer or dying.

It has now been clearly proven that a physically active lifestyle is associated with a significant reduction in all chronic diseases, be they cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, dementia or various types of cancer. Unfortunately, this preventative potential remains largely untapped, with nearly three in four Canadians not engaging in the recommended minimum of 150 minutes per week.

Daily Steps

Another easy way to estimate activity levels is to measure the number of steps taken during a day.⁽¹⁾

Again, studies that have measured this parameter confirm that most North Americans are not very active, only taking between 4,000 and 6,000 steps per day on average, only half of what needs to be considered active (10,000 steps).

So there is a huge gap that needs to be filled in order to achieve a sufficient level of activity to reduce the risk of chronic diseases.

10,000 step goal

A recent study clearly shows the importance of increasing the number of daily steps you take to prevent cancer and reduce the risk of premature death.⁽²⁾

In this study of 78,500 people (median age 61) followed for seven years, researchers examined the association between participants’ daily step count (measured with a wrist-worn accelerometer) and the incidence of 13 cancers that are influenced by physical activity (which includes the most common types of cancer, especially breast and colon cancer).

They observed a very clear association between the number of steps taken each day and the risk of developing or dying from one or other of these cancers, with a progressive reduction in risk reaching a maximum of about 35% at 10,000 steps per day. reached .

Similar reductions in the risk of cardiovascular disease and premature death in general have also been observed, again showing how harmful a sedentary lifestyle is and the importance of being active to improve your health.

For someone who is sedentary or not very active, a goal of 10,000 steps per day might seem like a difficult goal. But it should be borne in mind that increasing activity levels, even more modestly, can have measurable positive effects: for example, a meta-analysis of 15 studies involving a total of 50,000 people showed that there are 6,000 to 8,000 steps per day associated with around 50% walking Reducing the risk of premature mortality.⁽³⁾

The important thing is to slowly walk a little more, for example add 1000 steps per day (a walk of only 10-15 minutes), and gradually increase the duration of this walk.

Take the stairs instead of the elevator, walk to the supermarket instead of driving, go out for lunch, stay awake on the phone, plan walks in your diary, discover the beauty of nature in parks or new in the forest, so many ways to integrate this change into your life.

Throughout the evolution of life on Earth, the survival of animal species like humans has depended on our ability to move, whether to escape ubiquitous predators, to hunt animals, or to gather plants essential to our survival. We have been hunter-gatherers for over 90% of human evolution… Our physiology and biochemistry are intimately linked and coordinated with a very intense level of physical activity, and have been for millions of years of evolution.

This sudden sedentary lifestyle of the last few decades creates health problems because it is incompatible with the molecular mechanisms of homeostasis that keep us in that metabolic balance we call “health”. After quitting smoking, moving is certainly the change in your life that will have the biggest impact on the quality of your daily life, reducing your risk of chronic diseases, and increasing your overall life expectancy. .

• (1) Tudor-Locke C. et al. Reunion with “How many steps is enough?” » Medical science. Sporting exercise 2008; 40:S537-43.
• (2) Del Pozo Cruz B. et al. Prospective associations of daily step count and intensity with cancer and cardiovascular disease incidence and mortality, and all-cause mortality. JAMA intern. Medical 2022; 182: 1139-1148.
• (3) Paluch AE et al. Daily steps and all-cause mortality: a meta-analysis of 15 international cohorts. Lancet Public Health 2022; 7: e219-e228.