How to save yourself from the risk of early death?

A new study suggests that walking up to 10,000 steps a day reduces the risk of heart disease and premature death even if people spend most of their day sitting.

Experts have previously found that those who spend a lot of time sitting, whether at their desks or watching television, are more likely to die early and develop heart disease.

But, until now, it has not been clear whether walking can offset the effects of sitting most of the day.

The new study found that every additional step beyond 2,200 steps per day - up to about 10,000 steps - reduces this risk, regardless of the amount of remaining time you spend sitting.

Experts revealed that the lowest risk of premature death was among people who walked between 9,000 and 10,500 steps per day.

When it comes to avoiding stroke and heart attacks, the lowest risk was for people who walked about 9,700 steps per day.

In the study, experts led by the University of Sydney used UK Biobank data from 72,174 people aged about 61 years.

They all wore an accelerometer on their wrist for seven days to measure exercise levels.

Over about seven years of follow-up, 1,633 deaths were recorded and 6,190 cases of cardiovascular disease, such as heart attack or stroke, occurred.

The results showed that any number of daily steps above 2,200 per day was associated with lower mortality and heart disease regardless of how much time a person spent sitting, but the benefits increased the more steps people took.

In general, walking between 9,000 and 10,500 steps per day reduces the risk of premature death by 39% and the risk of heart attack or stroke by 21%.

In both cases, 50% of the benefit was achieved when walking between 4,000 and 4,500 steps per day.

A second study, published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, found that exercise even at low levels can help reduce the risk of stroke.

Julie Ward, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, said of the studies: “We know that daily physical activity is essential to help maintain a healthy lifestyle and reduce the risk of heart disease and the risk of stroke. These hopeful new studies show us that every step towards, "Achieving 10,000 steps a day helps reduce the risk of death and heart disease. Even low levels of activity can reduce the risk of stroke."

“We encourage everyone to stay active for heart and circulatory health by doing 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week,” she added.

Matt Lambert, director of health information and promotion at the World Cancer Research Fund, explained that the study showed that "the more active we are, the more we can reduce the risks of common diseases such as cancer and heart disease."