Climbing stairs regularly strengthens your health and can significantly increase life expectancy. Good reasons to take the stairs more often instead of the elevator.
According to a recent study, the results of which Dr. As Sophie Paddock from the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital Foundation Trust presented at the ESC Preventive Cardiology 2024 Congress of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC), climbing stairs reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease and early death.
Climbing stairs to combat lack of exercise
Our daily exercise level has a significant influence on the risk of cardiovascular disease, but more than one in four adults worldwide do not achieve the recommended level of physical activity, the researchers report.
Here, climbing stairs can offer a practical and easily accessible form of physical activity, the effect of which is often overlooked. Therefore, the team led by Dr. Paddock asked whether stair climbing could play a role in reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease and premature death.
Data from over 480,000 people
Based on a meta-analysis of the studies published so far, the researchers analyzed the effect of climbing stairs. Nine studies with a total of 480,479 participants were taken into account in the final analysis, the experts report.
The study population included both healthy people and people with a history of a heart attack or peripheral artery disease aged 35 to 84 years. 53 percent of the participants were women.
Reduced risk of early death
The data analysis showed that climbing stairs was associated with a 24 percent lower risk of early death compared to not climbing stairs. According to the researchers, the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease was reduced by 39 percent when climbing stairs.
In addition, the risk of cardiovascular diseases such as a heart attack, heart failure or a stroke is significantly reduced by climbing stairs. And according to Dr. Paddock, the study results also suggest that the more stairs you climb, the greater the benefits. However, this still needs to be checked in further studies.
Integrate climbing stairs into everyday life
Based on the results, the researchers recommend integrating climbing stairs into our everyday lives. “If you have the choice between taking the stairs or the elevator, you should choose the stairs because it's good for your heart,” emphasizes Dr. paddock.
Even short physical activity has a positive effect on health and climbing stairs is an achievable goal for most people that can be easily integrated into their daily routine. (fp)
