Find out what happens if you forget about the elevator and take the stairs

They’re boring, lazy, and we usually avoid them, but Climbing stairs is extremely beneficial for your health.. It was already known to reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes – the type caused by poor diet and sedentary lifestyle – and is now also known to have direct beneficial effects on the heart. In particular, according to a study released at the European Society of Cardiology congress held a few days ago in Athens, it reduces the risk of death from any cause by 24% and the risk of death from cardiovascular disease by up to 39%. “If you have access to the stairs or elevator, take the stairs because will help your heart“emphasizes the author, Dr. Sophie Paddock from the University of East Anglia and Norwich University Hospitals Foundation in the United Kingdom. “This confirms that any exercise is good for the heart,” confirms Dr. Manuel Anguita, spokesman for the Spanish Society of Cardiology (SEC).

To reach this conclusion, the researchers analyzed several existing studies on the subject. This is what science calls a meta-analysis, and under normal circumstances its results are more reliable than the results of a single study. In this case they were nine studies with 480,479 participants analyzed aged 35 to 84 years, both healthy and others with a history of cardiovascular disease. Those who missed the lift were almost a quarter less likely to die from any cause and 39% less likely to die from heart problems. “Based on these results, we would like to encourage people to take stairs in their daily lives. So use them, whether at work, at home or anywhere else,” Dr. Paddock insists.

One detail further emphasizes this conclusion: The study does not take into account the number of floors climbed or the intensity applied.That is, it doesn’t discriminate between those who climbed one floor or a dozen, emphasizing the idea that “some exercise is always better than nothing,” Angita says. Other benefits observed were a lower risk of cardiovascular disease, including heart attacks, heart failure and stroke. Also lowers cholesterol, strengthens bones and an estimated 2.7 kilograms are lost per year by climbing just two floors per day.

Regarding its effect on type II diabetes, a study conducted by a group of universities from China, Sweden and Australia found a benefit of between 5% and 14% depending on the number of steps we add per day. In practice, 10 to 50 steps per day reduces the risk of developing diabetes by 5%. From this minimum, if we reach 150 per day, we will reach the above-mentioned 14%. More than 5.5 million Spaniards suffer from this disease.

Why is this so beneficial?

The reasons why stair climbing is so good for your health are that “it requires more intensity than walking at a moderate pace, uses more muscle groups and adds to any other exercises we already do,” explains a Spanish expert . And while the above work doesn’t address the issue of more being better, it does assume that it is, as is the case with the well-worn question of the steps we should take every day to stay healthy. “According to the study, 3,500 or 4,000 are enough, but with each new thousand, the risk of mortality decreases by 7%

Yes, the more the merrier, but “always tailored to each person’s capabilities.” “An 80-year-old person is not the same as a 50-year-old person or a person who has had heart problems compared to someone who has not.”

The million dollar question: which exercise is best for our heart? “The best thing for the heart and for any other organ in general is a combination of aerobic exercise with some kind of strength exercise., but always with a predominance of the first. All of them are good, but everyone must choose the most suitable one based on their functionality and health status. For example, someone who cannot walk or climb stairs due to knee or hip problems can do aerobic exercise in a swimming pool. This is also useful.” So there’s no excuse not to start.