The secret to healthy living? Try going upstairs!
- Climbing six flights a day could be key, say researchers
- Exercise could help reduce risk of heart disease… and even dementia
Climbing six flights of stairs a day can reduce the risk of death and serious illnesses, new research has found.
People who regularly climb up and down stairs in their daily routine had a reduced risk of suffering from heart disease, dementia and type 2 diabetes, according to the study.
It is thought that short bursts of daily exercise involving lifting body weight increase fitness and strength, reduce frailty and cut the risk of chronic diseases.
Climbing stairs, instead of taking the lift or an escalator, is also a relatively easy and free form of exercise that people can include as they go about their day, instead of having to go to the gym or fitness classes.
The research, by Glasgow University, studied more than 400,000 people over a ten-year period.
They found those who regularly climbed around six flights of stairs daily, for example at home or at the office, had a 25 per cent lower risk of death from any cause than those who did not climb stairs.
Climbing stairs is good for cardiovascular health and it could reduce risks of developing stroke, heart failure and heart attacks
They also had a 39 per cent lower risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, a 22 per cent lower risk of dementia, a 12 per cent lower risk of cardiovascular disease and a 7 per cent lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
The researchers calculated one flight of stairs as being around ten steps, either up or down.
Lead researcher Dr Carlos Celis-Morales at the university’s School of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Health said: ‘This is about doing something every day that is incidental, not like having to go to the gym. Most people walk every day but unfortunately not everyone walks very fast or intensively.
‘But with the stairs, regardless of how slowly you move you are still exercising moderately to vigorously. You will push your body into the right level of activity.’
The research used the UK Biobank Study of British adults aged 37-73, with an average age of 56.
Two thirds were overweight or obese, similar to the obesity rate of the Scottish population.
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