Climbing 50 steps a day reduces heart disease risk by 20%: Study

New Delhi: A new study has found that climbing at least 50 steps of stairs daily could significantly slash the risk of cardiovascular disease by 20 percent.

The study was conducted by Tulane University in Louisiana in the US and published in the journal Atherosclerosis.

Dr. Lu Qi, professor at Tulane University’s School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine said, “Short bursts of high-intensity stair climbing are a time-efficient way to improve cardiorespiratory fitness and lipid profile, especially among those unable to achieve the current physical activity recommendations”.

Using UK Biobank data collected from 450,000 adults, the study calculated participants’ susceptibility to cardiovascular disease based on family history, established risk factors and genetic risk factors, and surveyed participants about their lifestyle habits and frequency of stair climbing.

According to the study, climbing more stairs daily especially reduced the risk of cardiovascular disease in those who were less susceptible.

However, Qi said the increased risk of heart disease in more susceptible people could be “effectively offset” by daily stair climbing.

“This study provides novel evidence for the protective effects of stair climbing on the risk of Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD), particularly for individuals with multiple ASCVD risk factors,” Qi said.

ASCVD along with coronary artery disease and stroke are the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide.

With inputs from IANS