A new systematic review, published in the American Journal of Cardiovascular Drugs, analyzes nine studies and over 480 thousand people: those who regularly climb stairs have a 39% lower risk of cardiovascular death. But the data must be read carefully: the association does not demonstrate that it is precisely the steps that make people live longer.
Climbing stairs, even for a few minutes a day, could be associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular death and overall mortality. A new systematic review and meta-analysis that has collected the data of over 480 thousand people. The result is significant: those who habitually climb stairs have a 39% lower relative risk of cardiovascular death and a 24% lower mortality from all causes than those who do not. Be careful, however, to read these numbers correctly. The study does not prove that stairs alone make people live longer: this is an association observed in mainly observational studies. Those who choose the stairs could in fact be more active in other aspects as well and have an overall healthier lifestyle. But the data adds an interesting piece to an increasingly broader literature: physical activity does not necessarily have to be long, organized or practiced in the gym to have value in cardiovascular prevention. From here, the more interesting question is not so much whether we should stop using the elevator, but how much movement can we really accumulate during a normal day. And stairs, precisely because they require relatively intense effort in just a few minutes, can be one of the easiest ways to do this.
The cardiologist: very interesting study
«This publication is very important because it collects the results of numerous studies and involves a total population of approximately 480 thousand people» says Giuseppe Musumeci, Director of the Cardiology department of the Mauriziano Hospital in Turin. «It confirms how fundamental physical exercise is in cardiovascular prevention, not only for those who have never had heart problems, but also for those who have already had a cardiovascular event. Sedentary lifestyle, in fact, adds to the main traditional risk factors – smoking, diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol – and is associated with an increase in cardiovascular risk, in a pathology that still represents the leading cause of death in the Western world.” According to the cardiologist, above all the indication of the 60 steps is worthy of diffusion. «The particularly interesting thing about the study is that it shows how it is not necessary to think of physical activity only as something structured or demanding: even a simple gesture like climbing the stairs can help protect the heart» concludes Musumeci. «The indication of approximately 60 steps per day is also significant because they do not necessarily have to be consecutive: can be distributed throughout the day. According to study data, this activity is associated with an almost 40% reduction in cardiovascular events. It is an important message to spread precisely because it is a simple, free exercise that is accessible to many people.»
You don’t need to become an athlete: good will is enough
The number of six floors, about 60 steps it derives from one of the studies included in the analyzed literature, it does not represent a universal dose but it is an interesting indication. However, the review also suggests another important principle: even small episodes of physical activity can contribute to the overall movement of the day. For those who lead a sedentary lifestyle, therefore, the first objective should not be to suddenly transform into an athlete, but to interrupt immobility and progressively increase movement. The World Health Organization itself insists that doing some activity is better than none at all and that those who are inactive should start with small amounts, gradually increasing frequency, intensity and duration. It is also for this reason that scales can be of particular interest as a tool cardiovascular prevention in real life. Their advantage is not only physiological, but behavioral: they eliminate one of the most frequently invoked barriers when talking about exercise, namely lack of time. You don’t have to find forty minutes free, go to the gym or prepare for a workout. The possibility of moving is already there, in front of us, in everyday life. The most interesting message of the research, then, is none other than that climbing stairs extends your life in the strict sense, but that a part of our cardiovascular health is also played out in gestures that we tend to consider too small to have a biological meaning. The ladder is one of them. It does not replace structured exercise, it does not erase a poor diet and it does not make smoking, hypertension or high cholesterol harmless. But it can help move the budget, little by little, in the right direction.
