Apples for Health- Moderate walking means 100 steps/minute

Moderate walking means 100 steps/minute

SAN DIEGO, March 27 (UPI) -- U.S. researchers say moderate intensity walking means 100 steps per minute, 3,000 steps in 30 minutes.

The study, published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, monitored oxygen uptake and recorded heart rates for 58 woman and 39 men wearing pedometers while walking on treadmills at speeds between 65 and 110 meters per minute.

Lead investigator Simon J. Marshall of the School of Exercise and Nutritional Sciences, San Diego State University, says the data support a general recommendation of walking at more than 100 steps per minute on level terrain to meet the minimum of the moderate-intensity guideline.

"Because health benefits can be achieved with bouts of exercise lasting at least 10 minutes, a useful starting point is to try and accumulate 1,000 steps in 10 minutes, before building up to 3,000 steps in 30 minutes," Marshall says in a statement.

"Individuals can monitor their progress using a simple pedometer and a wristwatch. The use of a single and simple pedometer-based guideline that is easy both to remember and measure."