Recent studies have highlighted the health benefits associated with walking more, especially when it comes to heart health.
Now, researchers from the American College of Cardiology found that taking more steps throughout the day can help consumers lower their blood pressure.
The team says that tracking steps can ensure that consumers are staying on top of their physical activity.
“This study solidifies our understanding of the relationship between physical activity and blood pressure and raises the possibility that obesity or body mass index accounts for a lot of that relationship,” said researcher Dr. Mayank Sardana.
Boosting heart health
The researchers had over 630 participants involved in the study. Each person wore an Apple Watch and checked their blood pressure every week.
The watches tracked all of the participants’ daily physical activity, including how many steps they took each day.
The researchers learned that those who were taking more steps throughout the day had lower systolic and diastolic blood pressure than those who weren’t walking as much.
They found that consumers could actually lower their blood pressure enough to no longer be considered at risk by taking 10,000 steps each day. The findings also suggest that consumers can lower their systolic blood pressure as much as 0.45 points for every 1,000 steps they take throughout the day.
Though this was an observational study, other recent studies have also found that exercise can be a great way to keep blood pressure at healthy levels.
The researchers say that tracking physical activity can be a great way for consumers to set fitness goals and boost their overall health reports Consumer Affairs.
“Going forward, it would be useful to look at how smart devices might be leveraged to promote physical activity, reduce the burden of obesity, and potentially reduce blood pressure,” said Dr. Sardana.
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