You've probably heard it suggested that you need to move more throughout the day, and as a general rule of thumb, that "more" is often defined as around 10,000 steps. With many Americans tracking their steps via new fitness-tracking wearables, or even just by carrying their phone, more and more people use the 10,000-step rule as their marker for healthy living. Dr. Dreg Hager, professor of computer science at Johns Hopkins, decided to take a closer look at that 10,000-step rule, and he found that using it as a standard may be doing more harm than good for many.
“It turns out that in 1960 in Japan they figured out that the average Japanese man, when he walked 10,000 steps a day burned something like 3,000 calories and that is what they thought the average person should consume so they picked 10,000 steps as a number” Hager said.
According to Hager, asking everyone to shoot for 10,000 steps each day could be harmful to the elderly or those with medical conditions, making it unwise for them to jump into that level of exercise, even if it's walking. The bottom line is that 10,000 steps may be too many for some and too few for others. He also noted that those with shorter legs have an easier time hitting the 10,000-step goal because they have to take more steps than people with longer legs to cover the distance. It seems that 10,000 steps may be suitable for the latter.
A more recent study focused on older women and how many steps can help maintain good health and promote longevity (长寿).The study included nearly 17,000 women with an average age of 72. Researchers found that women who took 4,400 steps per day were about 40% less likely to die during a follow-up period of just over four years: Interestingly, women in the study who walked more than 7,500 steps each day got no extra boost in longevity.
8. What does the underlined word "it' in Paragraph 1 refer to?
A.The phone recording. | B.The 10,000-step rule. |
C.The healthy living. | D.The fitness-tracking method. |
9. What does Paragraph 2 mainly talk about?
A.How many steps a Japanese walks. |
B.How we calculate the number of steps. |
C.If burning 3,000 calories daily is scientific. |
D.Where 10,000 steps a day came from. |
10. Who will probably benefit from 10,000 steps each day according to Hager?
A.Senior citizens. | B.Young short-legged people. |
C.Healthy long-legged people | D.Weak individuals. |
11. How many steps may the researchers suggest senior citizens take each day?
A.4,400 steps. | B.10,000 steps. |
C.2,700 steps. | D.7,500 steps. |