Recent studies indicated that people who walk long distances
during the day are less susceptible to diabetes. Catherine Todoroki , who is
studying walking and health at Pennington Biomedical Research Center of
Louisiana, stated that people who do the least amount of physical activity reap
a lot in their health, emphasizing that we must walk at least 10,000 steps a day, which means about five miles.
Earlier studies relying on questionnaires indicated that walking as much as
possible reduces the risk of diabetes, but few studies has made precise
measurements of the number of steps that must be taken by the person per day,
says the current study writer Amanda
Fritzo, researcher at the University of
Washington in Seattle. She asked more than 1,800 people to wear a device on
their thighs for a week to count the steps they take every day in their
curricula for optimal evaluation of the benefits of walking; all of them are from
American communities in Arizona: areas known for people minimizing physical
activity and increased rates of diabetes.
It was found that about a quarter of the sample for less than 3,500 step per
day, while half of the respondents walk for about 7,800 step per day. It also was found that almost 17% of the Group
with the least activity became diabetic, compared to 12% of those marching for
more than 3,500 step per day.
Other factors causing the disease such as age and smoking has been taken into
account. The research team found that people who walk longer distances have a
lower risk of diabetes by 29% compared with those who walk the shortest
distance. Other studies suggest that physical activity is linked to reducing
the risk of mild diabetes.
On the other side, the researcher found that walking a lot didn’t reduce the
risk of diabetes for people who suffer from obesity. However, after more
research they confirmed that walking may help these people get rid of overweight,
which represents a risk factor for diabetes. Physical activity also affects the
inflammations that affect the body and blood glucose.