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.
《欧洲预防心脏病学杂志》发表的一项新研究综述称，每天仅需走4000步——不到通常建议的保持积极生活方式10000步的一半——就足以帮助你延长寿命。
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.
这个结论并不意味着人们就不用走更长的路了；研究人员发现，运动越多越有益，每天多走1000步，就能使早逝的风险大约降低15%。但越来越多的研究也证实，锻炼不一定要很累或很长时间才能改善健康。研究显示，无论是走路还是做家务还是跳舞，各种活动都能促进健康。
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.
为了得出这个结论，一组研究人员分析了17篇已发表的关于步行和健康的论文，因为每天走的步数是衡量身体活动的常用指标。这些研究涵盖了来自多个国家的超过22.5万名成年人，他们的平均年龄是64岁，有些人身体状况良好，有些人患有心血管疾病的危险因素。他们被跟踪观察了平均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.
在分析了这些研究的数据之后，研究人员发现，人们走得越多，死亡风险就越低。他们没有发现一个临界点，在那个点之后，每天超过2万步的运动就不再有益了。
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，这也和之前的研究一样，他们认为每天走不了多少步就能改善健康。当研究参与者每天走超过大约4000步（约合两英里）时，死于任何原因的风险就开始明显降低。如果只看死于心血管疾病的风险，那么这个临界点更低，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.
研究人员发现，这些趋势在不同地区、不同性别之间都比较稳定。但是，不同年龄段的人之间就有些差别了。60岁以上的成年人每天走6000到10000步，死亡风险就能下降42%，而60岁以下的人每天走7000到13000步，死亡风险就能下降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.
这些发现也有一些需要注意的地方。首先，这种观察性研究只能发现一些规律，但不能确立因果关系。研究人员也没有办法充分考虑参与者的社会经济状况或生活方式，这意味着每天的步数只是影响寿命的众多因素之一。比如说，最活跃的人可能还有很多其他健康的习惯，这些习惯也可能有助于延长寿命。
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.
尽管如此，这项新研究和许多其他研究以及美国联邦体育活动指南都得出了同样的结论：多运动几乎总是更好的，但少量运动也比不运动好。
节选自《时代周刊》：Forget 10,000 Steps. Here's How Much Science Says You Actually Need to Walk
1. extend v. 扩展；延长；扩大；提供
2. takeaway n. 外卖餐馆；外卖的饭菜；外卖食物
3. dissuade v. 劝（某人）勿做（某事）；劝阻
4. stroll v. 散步；从容不迫地做 n. 散步
5. premature adj. 未成熟的；过早的；提前的；早产的
n. 早产的婴儿；过早爆发的炮弹；过早发生的事物
6. grueling adj. 使极度疲劳的 n. 痛打
7. mortality n. 死亡率；生命的有限；死亡数量
8. threshold n. 阈；门槛；起点；开端
9. equivalent n. 等值；同义词；【化】当量；【地】同期地层
adj. 【化】等价的；同等的；同意义的
10. caveat n. 警告；告诫
11. lifespan n. 寿命；可持续年限；有效期
12. nonetheless adv. 尽管如此
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