Walking just 4,000 steps per day—less than half of the 10,000 steps often recommended for maintaining an active lifestyle—may be enough to help extend your life, according to a new research review published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.

《歐洲預(yù)防心臟病學(xué)雜志》發(fā)表的一項(xiàng)新研究綜述稱，每天僅需走4000步——不到通常建議的保持積極生活方式10000步的一半——就足以幫助你延長壽命。

That takeaway shouldn’t dissuade anyone from taking a longer stroll; the researchers found that more movement is better, with each additional 1,000 steps per day associated with a roughly 15% lower risk of premature death. But it joins a growing body of research that suggests workouts don’t need to be all that grueling or lengthy to improve your health. Everything from walking to housework to dancing can contribute to well-being, studies have shown.

這個(gè)結(jié)論并不意味著人們就不用走更長的路了；研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn)，運(yùn)動(dòng)越多越有益，每天多走1000步，就能使早逝的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)大約降低15%。但越來越多的研究也證實(shí)，鍛煉不一定要很累或很長時(shí)間才能改善健康。研究顯示，無論是走路還是做家務(wù)還是跳舞，各種活動(dòng)都能促進(jìn)健康。

To reach the new findings, a team of researchers analyzed 17 previously published papers on walking and health, as steps taken per day is a commonly studied measure of physical activity. Cumulatively, those studies included more than 225,000 adults from multiple countries with an average age of 64, some of whom were in generally good health and some of whom had risk factors for cardiovascular disease. On average, they were tracked for seven years.

為了得出這個(gè)結(jié)論，一組研究人員分析了17篇已發(fā)表的關(guān)于步行和健康的論文，因?yàn)槊刻熳叩牟綌?shù)是衡量身體活動(dòng)的常用指標(biāo)。這些研究涵蓋了來自多個(gè)國家的超過22.5萬名成年人，他們的平均年齡是64歲，有些人身體狀況良好，有些人患有心血管疾病的危險(xiǎn)因素。他們被跟蹤觀察了平均7年。

After analyzing the data from those studies, the researchers determined that mortality risk progressively declines as people walk more. They didn’t find a point at which additional activity stops appearing beneficial, all the way up to 20,000 steps per day.

在分析了這些研究的數(shù)據(jù)之后，研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn)，人們走得越多，死亡風(fēng)險(xiǎn)就越低。他們沒有發(fā)現(xiàn)一個(gè)臨界點(diǎn)，在那個(gè)點(diǎn)之后，每天超過2萬步的運(yùn)動(dòng)就不再有益了。

But, in keeping with previous research, they also concluded that it doesn’t take a massive number of daily steps to improve health. The risk of dying from any cause began to significantly decline once study participants passed a threshold of around 4,000 steps per day (the equivalent of roughly two miles). The threshold was even lower—around 2,500 steps per day—when looking specifically at the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease.

但是，這也和之前的研究一樣，他們認(rèn)為每天走不了多少步就能改善健康。當(dāng)研究參與者每天走超過大約4000步（約合兩英里）時(shí)，死于任何原因的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)就開始明顯降低。如果只看死于心血管疾病的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)，那么這個(gè)臨界點(diǎn)更低，只有每天2500步左右。

These trends stayed fairly constant across different geographic locations, as well as when comparing men and women, the researchers found. There were, however, some differences among people of different ages. Adults older than 60 saw about a 42% drop in mortality risk when they walked between 6,000 and 10,000 steps per day, while those younger than 60 saw a roughly 49% reduction when they walked between 7,000 and 13,000 steps per day.

研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn)，這些趨勢在不同地區(qū)、不同性別之間都比較穩(wěn)定。但是，不同年齡段的人之間就有些差別了。60歲以上的成年人每天走6000到10000步，死亡風(fēng)險(xiǎn)就能下降42%，而60歲以下的人每天走7000到13000步，死亡風(fēng)險(xiǎn)就能下降49%。

There are some caveats to the findings. For one, observational research of this nature can uncover patterns, but it can’t definitively prove cause and effect. The researchers also weren’t able to fully account for participants’ socioeconomic statuses or overall lifestyles, which means daily steps were just one piece of a larger puzzle. It’s possible, for example, that the people who were most active also had a number of other healthy habits that could contribute to a longer lifespan.

這些發(fā)現(xiàn)也有一些需要注意的地方。首先，這種觀察性研究只能發(fā)現(xiàn)一些規(guī)律，但不能確立因果關(guān)系。研究人員也沒有辦法充分考慮參與者的社會(huì)經(jīng)濟(jì)狀況或生活方式，這意味著每天的步數(shù)只是影響壽命的眾多因素之一。比如說，最活躍的人可能還有很多其他健康的習(xí)慣，這些習(xí)慣也可能有助于延長壽命。

Nonetheless, the new research joins plenty of other studies—and U.S. federal physical activity guidelines—in the same conclusion: more movement is almost always better, but a small amount is also better than nothing.

盡管如此，這項(xiàng)新研究和許多其他研究以及美國聯(lián)邦體育活動(dòng)指南都得出了同樣的結(jié)論：多運(yùn)動(dòng)幾乎總是更好的，但少量運(yùn)動(dòng)也比不運(yùn)動(dòng)好。

節(jié)選自《時(shí)代周刊》：Forget 10,000 Steps. Here's How Much Science Says You Actually Need to Walk

1. extend v. 擴(kuò)展；延長；擴(kuò)大；提供

2. takeaway n. 外賣餐館；外賣的飯菜；外賣食物

3. dissuade v. 勸（某人）勿做（某事）；勸阻

4. stroll v. 散步；從容不迫地做 n. 散步

5. premature adj. 未成熟的；過早的；提前的；早產(chǎn)的

n. 早產(chǎn)的嬰兒；過早爆發(fā)的炮彈；過早發(fā)生的事物

6. grueling adj. 使極度疲勞的 n. 痛打

7. mortality n. 死亡率；生命的有限；死亡數(shù)量

8. threshold n. 閾；門檻；起點(diǎn)；開端

9. equivalent n. 等值；同義詞；【化】當(dāng)量；【地】同期地層

adj. 【化】等價(jià)的；同等的；同意義的

10. caveat n. 警告；告誡

11. lifespan n. 壽命；可持續(xù)年限；有效期

12. nonetheless adv. 盡管如此

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