Walk the Extra Mile

Short-term monitoring and intervention in physical activity may help people achieve better health outcomes in the long term, a new analysis published in the journal PLOS Medicine has found. The analysis was conducted on two research studies conducted on primary healthcare centres in the UK. The studies were performed on 1297 adults and older adults of age 45 to 75 years and their walking was monitored using a pedometer for 12 weeks. The analysis observed the impact of short-term monitoring of physical activity of the participants on managing health conditions in the long term, such as Diabetes, heart disease and depression. The results have shown that monitoring physical activity in adults and older adults not only helped increase their physical activity but also reduced the risk of heart attacks, stroke and fractures significantly due to increased physical activity. It also helped them achieve better control of their health parameters.

Source: PLOS Medicine, 2022