Study: Higher Daily Step Count May Lead to Longer Life

Category: Health

Listening

Unlocking Word Meanings

Read the following words/expressions found in today’s article.

  1. longevity / lɒnˈdʒɛv ɪ ti / (n) – long life
    Example:

    Some studies link the consumption of olive oil to longevity.


  2. onset / ˈɒnˌsɛt / (n) – the start of something
    Example:

    The athletes have been following a strict diet since the onset of the training.


  3. mortality / mɔrˈtæl ɪ ti / (n) – death or the loss of life
    Example:

    The creation of vaccines has reduced infant mortalities.


  4. in line with (something) / ɪn laɪn wɪθ / (idiom) – agreeing with or similar to something
    Example:

    Taking the therapy is in line with the doctor’s advice.


  5. moderate / ˈmɒd ər ɪt / (adj) – having an average degree or quality
    Example:

    I added a moderate amount of salt to the dish to make it just a bit tastier.


Article

Read the text below.

A new study revealed that taking more than 8,000 steps a day may lower the risk of dying early.


Researchers from the National Institutes of Health and other organizations in the United States found that a person’s daily step count has a strong connection with longevity. Compared to taking 4,000 steps each day, taking 8,000 to 12,000 steps daily correlated to a 51% to 65% reduced risk of all causes of death, including heart disease and cancer. On the other hand, the researchers discovered that the risk of death is not affected by the intensity or pace of a person’s steps.


One of the authors said that the goal of the research is to help people recognize the impact of their step count on their health.


To gather data for the study, researchers followed around 4,800 American adults who were at least 40 years old between 2003 and 2006. The participants wore trackers for about a week to record their activity. In their calculations, the researchers took into account the participants’ lifestyle, body mass index, and health condition during the onset of the study. Then, they studied the mortality rate of the participants over a 10-year period.


The researchers stated that the study mostly relied on observation and does not directly prove that walking is the direct cause of the lower number of deaths among the participants. Nonetheless, the study’s results are in line with experts’ advice that adults should increase their daily physical activity and do at least 150 minutes of moderate exercises weekly.


A spokesperson from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention added that being physically active has other benefits like improving overall physical wellbeing and helping people sleep better.


Viewpoint Discussion

Enjoy a discussion with your tutor.

Discussion A

• Do you think the results of the study are enough to convince people to be more physically active? Why or why not?
• What do you think people can do to meet the required daily step count? Discuss.

Discussion B

• Why do you think it is difficult for some people to be physically active? Explain.
• Do you think implementing initiatives to help people increase their physical activities will be effective? Why or why not?