In this article, we will discuss the relationship between health and steps.
Walking is good for your health! It has been said that walking is good for your health, and although there are many theories, people continue to believe that it is good for their health.Nevertheless, there is a concern that the working generation is spending more and more time sitting and less and less time walking.Is there a benefit to wearing a pedometer or other device to keep increasing the number of steps taken? Here is a study that reviews this question.Please take a look at it and consider whether or not you should take walks that focus on the number of steps taken.
The study
This is a review of 14 studies of 4762 people from all workplaces, mostly in high-income countries.In all the studies, the use of pedometers was utilized as part of a health program that included other components such as walking groups, counseling, and diet.The effects of participation in a pedometer-based program were then compared with those of the followingPeople who received no or minimal health program and regular advice on the benefits of physical activity.
Comparison with other health programs that do not use pedometers.
These programs lasted from two weeks to two years.Then, follow-up evaluations were conducted for 3 to 10 months.
The purpose of these studies is to see if pedometers have a lasting impact on physical activity and health. We are also interested in investigating the effects on sedentary behavior, risk factors for cardiovascular disease and diabetes, blood cholesterol levels, and quality of life.
Comparison with people who did no or minimal health programA program that utilizes pedometers may not affect physical activity for a month after the program ends, but may reduce sedentary behavior and improve people's well-being.
However, there is little certainty about these results.
Programs that utilize pedometers may slightly reduce body mass index, but have little effect on blood pressure, and may reduce injuries and other undesirable effects.No studies have measured cholesterol or heart disease risk scores at least one month after completing the program.
Comparison with another health program.Programs that utilize pedometers may affect physical activity at least one month after completion of the program, but there is little certainty about this outcome.We were unable to draw any conclusions about undesirable effects.There was not enough evidence to be confident about the effects on sedentary behavior, BMI, blood pressure, cholesterol, risk of cardiovascular disease, and well-being.Some effects were seen, but results were inconsistent.
Reviewer's conclusion
Exercise interventions can have a positive impact on employees' physical activity and health, but current evidence is insufficient to suggest that pedometer-based interventions are more effective than other options. It is important to note that over the past decade, technological advances in accelerometers as commercial products, often available for free on smartphones, have made the use of pedometers obsolete in many respects. Future studies aimed at testing the effects of either pedometers or accelerometers may find that the control arm is highly contaminated. Decision-makers considering allocating resources to a large-scale program of this kind should be cautious about the expected benefits of incorporating pedometers, and note that these effects may not be sustainable in the long term.
While pedometers may not be a top priority (especially given the increased availability of accelerometers), future studies should be designed to identify the effective components of multicomponent interventions. As with more consistent measurement of physical activity and health outcomes, approaches to increase intervention effectiveness and behavioral sustainability over time need to be considered.
Freak-Poli RLA, Cumpston M, Albarqouni L, Clemes SA, Peeters A. Workplace pedometer interventions for increasing physical activity. Database of Systematic Reviews 2020, Issue 7. Art. No.: CD009209. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD009209.pub3.
Conclusion
The comments also suggested that there was little hope for the future of "pedometer-based" interventions, but that there were some benefits of behavioral interventions such as step counting.It may seem that you can't enjoy good health without walking, but you do want to avoid sedentary behavior all day long.It seems to be an intervention that does not produce short-term results, so it may be better to do something that you can do for a long period of time, in a time that you can easily do.
If you start exercising for some unknown reason, such as "I have to start exercising because I have a test in a month," it may be a while before you see any results.
