Adults who reported climbing more than five flights of stairs daily were 20% less likely to develop atherosclerotic CVD over 12 years compared with those who reported never climbing stairs.
Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) is a condition that causes arteries to narrow, restricting healthy blood flow to organs as well as the arms and legs. When ASCVD blocks blood flow to the heart or brain, it can lead to heart attack and strokes.
“Short bursts of high-intensity stair climbing are a time-efficient way to improve cardiorespiratory fitness and lipid profile, especially among those unable to achieve the current physical activity recommendations,” Lu Qi, MD, PhD, FAHA, HCA Regents Distinguished Chair and professor in the department of epidemiology at Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, and colleagues wrote in the study background.
458,860 adults without CVD at baseline who participated in the UK Biobank, a large-scale biomedical database and research resource that contains data for over half a million UK participants. It is a major contributor to the advancement of modern medicine.
Researchers collected information about stair climbing, sociodemographic and lifestyle factors at baseline (2006-2010) and during a web-based resurvey in 2014 and assessed levels of genetic risk score, 10-year risk for ASCVD and self-reported family history of ASCVD. Median follow-up was 12.5 years. The researchers concluded that “. . .the increased risk of ASCVD in susceptible individuals could be effectively offset by engaging in more stair climbing. These findings highlight the potential advantages of stair climbing as a primary preventive measure for ASCVD in the general population.”
Another study, published in Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases, found that moderate-intensity stair walking for as little as 3 minutes can lower glucose and insulin concentrations, and 10 minutes of stair walking can improve insulin sensitivity.
“Short duration, moderate-intensity stair stepping causes a decrease in peak postprandial glucose and insulin levels with as little as 3 minutes, but longer — 10 minutes — stepping was necessary to also increase in insulin sensitivity after a standard glucose challenge,” Jeff Moore, MS, professor at San Diego State University School of Exercise and Nutritional Science and a PhD student at the Lundquist Institute for Biomedical Innovation at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center stated.
While this study focused on participants that were healthy, younger adults, the researchers wrote that they expected greater benefits would be found in populations that “have impaired glucose tolerance, insulin resistance, or overt diabetes.”
A quick way to assess your baseline cardiovascular health is to walk four flights of stairs. An accurate indicator of good cardiac health is finishing in under one minute. If it takes more than one and a half minutes, consult your doctor.
There is no shortage of information that highlights the importance of physical activity. One recent study shared data that moving can extend your life. Walking just 4,000 steps per day is associated with a lower risk of death, according to the analysis published Tuesday in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.
“We found that the recommended amount of physical activity was in fact associated with significantly reduced risk for breast, colon, endometrial, kidney, liver, myeloma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma,” said lead researcher Charles Matthews, a senior investigator at the U.S. National Cancer Institute.
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, it is recommended that adults:
- Get at least 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity aerobic activity or 75 minutes per week of vigorous aerobic activity, or a combination of both, preferably spread throughout the week.
- Add moderate- to high-intensity muscle-strengthening activity (such as resistance or weights) on at least 2 days per week.
- Spend less time sitting. Even light-intensity activity can offset some of the risks of being sedentary. Walking as few as 4,000 steps per day can make a difference, with significant decrease of all-cause death risk at roughly 7,000 steps.
- Gain even more benefits by being active at least 300 minutes (5 hours) per week.
- Increase amount and intensity gradually over time.
Whether it is walking, stair-stepping, or any other kind of physical activity- get moving. When study after study highlights that most Americans are largely inactive and obesity is rapidly on the rise (with nearly half of Americans on target to be obese by the year 2030), increasing physical activity is a “must-do” to improve and maintain your health.
-https://www.nmcd-journal.com/article/S0939-4753(21)00514-7/fulltext
-https://www.atherosclerosis-journal.com/article/S0021-9150(23)05221-8/fulltext
-https://www.goodrx.com/health-topic/heart/atherosclerotic-cardiovascular-disease-ascvd
-https://www.ukbiobank.ac.uk/
-https://www.latimes.com/science/story/2019-12-18/nearly-half-of-us-adults-will-be-obese-by-2030
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-https://diabetesjournals.org/care/article/30/3/744/25512/Physical-Activity-of-Moderate-Intensity-and-Risk
-https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/obesity-prevention-source/moderate-and-vigorous-physical-activity/
-https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19211953/
-https://www.healthline.com/health-news/how-fast-can-you-climb-4-flights-of-stairs-it-may-reveal-your-heart-health
-https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/192010#qundefined
-https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15353531/