Yes, Counting Steps Might Make You Healthier

Yes, Counting Steps Might Make You Healthier
Researchers tracked two groups of people over three to four years: one with pedometers and help setting goals, the others with neither. The results point to a low risk way to help people live healthier lives. Yulia Grigoryeva/Shutterstock
Reuters
Updated:

People who track their daily steps may be more active and less likely to develop health problems that lead to events like heart attacks or broken bones, a new study suggests.

Researchers examined data on 1,297 participants from clinical trials that randomly assigned half of the people to track steps with pedometers over 12 weeks while the rest of them did no tracking at all. When they joined the trial, people took about 7,500 steps a day and got 90 minutes a week of moderate to vigorous physical activity in at least 10-minute bouts.