Daily steps and risk of disease, a new Causes or Cures Podcast on recent scientific research.

Many people wonder if there is a magic number of steps we should be taking to lower our risk of disease and/or death. While it seems intuitive that more steps is always better, sometimes you see diminishing returns or a point at which there is no more benefit to our health. My expert guest discussed this issue with me on Causes or Cures.

In this episode, I chatted with Dr. Borja del Pozo Cruz, PhD, about his and his team’s study recently published in JAMA Internal Medicine on the association between daily steps, step intensity and new cases of cancer, cardiovascular disease and death. To date, it is the largest population sample and analysis of adults wearing an accelerometer.

In the podcast, Dr. Pozo Cruz will discuss his current research interests and why he is interested in the link between number of daily steps and risk of disease. He will explain how he and his team conducted the study and what they were measuring, including daily step counts, cadence-based metrics, and stepping intensity. He’ll discuss their findings related to number of daily steps and association with cancer, cardiovascular disease and death, and if there were any differences noted among age groups. He’ll answer THE question, “Is there a magic number” of steps we should be taking to reduce our risk of disease and death. Finally he’ll discuss limitations, potential individual and public health implications based on his findings and where he’s taking his research next.

Dr. Borja del Pozo Cruz is a scientist, professor and senior researcher with the Department of Sport Sciences and Clinical Biomechanics at the Center for Active and Healthy Aging at the University of Southern Denmark.

You guys can tune in here. 

Also check out this recent episode on dog bowls, dog food hygiene and dog health and human health. Well, if you’re a dog parent, check it out. I guess it wouldn’t relate to you if you don’t have a dog. ;)

Also check out my public health musings here, where I write about my work, scientific communications, public health campaigns, misinformation and more.

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Eeks