Stairs climbing can save you from heart diseases, read how
Stairs climbing is an unusual but potent way of reducing your chances of having a heart disease. People who climb 50 stairs a day face less risk of cardiovascular disease compared to people who do not, a new study published in the Atherosclerosis claims.
The study relied on the responses of 458,860 adults to make a conclusion on heart diseases, such as stroke, heart attacks, and blood clots.
The researchers assumed an average staircase to be 10 steps. The researchers tracked the incidence of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease for people climbing their staircases 1–5, 6–10, 11–15, 16–20, and equal to or greater than 21 times a day.
Although the greatest protective effect of stair-climbing was associated with people who were not considered at particular cardiovascular disease risk, due to genetics
Stairs climbing, according to Dr. Lu Qi might lower “body weight, improve metabolic status and inflammation, and reduce other diseases which may increase the risk of heart disease, such as diabetes.” Dr. Lu Qi is director at Tulane University’s Obesity Research Center.
Stairs climbing “actually engage other muscle groups” and “harder exercise than walking on level ground,” said Dr. Cheng-Ham Chen, medical director of the Structural Heart Program at Saddleback Medical Center in Laguna Hills, California.
He explains: While climbing stairs “you’re moving (your body) it against gravity, and you’re basically pushing yourself up and out, right?
“You’re actually building your muscles in your lower body, but you’re also building muscle in your core, in your lower back.
“Because [climbing stairs is] harder, you’re doing more exercise, and more exercise is better for you. We think that [climbing] stairs actually gives you three times as much exercise as the same amount of time walking on the ground,” he said.
