Fitbit Champs: What More Steps Means for Diabetes, Obesity

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How many steps do you get each day?

Does your step number relate to you risk of diabetes, obesity, and heart disease?

In the only six states where people take 8,500+ steps a day, people also have lower heart disease and diabetes risk than the U.S. average, according to Fitbit data.

scatter plot of fitbit steps versus diabetes riskOn the flip side, in the only six states where people take fewer than 7,800 steps a day, people also had higher  heart disease and diabetes risk than the U.S. average.

These correlations might not be shocking.

“Obviously, the more exercise you do, the better it is for your heart health,” said Dr. Nieca Goldberg, of the Joan H. Tisch Center for Women’s Health at NYU Langone Medical Center, told The Washington Post.

But it’s not clear exactly how many steps are needed, and whether Latinos and other minorities have equitable opportunity to get more steps.

How Many Steps Should You Take?

Fitbit starts everyone with a daily goal of 10,000 steps.

That’s because, they write, it “adds up to about five miles each day for most people, which includes about 30 minutes of daily exercise—satisfying the CDC’s recommendation of at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week.”

While taking 10,000 steps a day is generally assumed to promote health, there’s little scientific study to support that assumption, The Washington Post reports.

A 2017 study suggested more steps are even better, at least for postal workers.

“[Postal workers] who walked their routes — tallying at least 15,000 steps — maintained a healthy weight, a trim waistline and a normal metabolism with no risk for cardiac disease,” according to the article.

Dr. Goldberg cautioned that there isn’t a perfect number for everyone.

“It’s important not to give the message, ‘only 15,000.’ If you are starting out and only getting 8,000 steps, that’s better than getting zero.”

Do Latinos Even Have the Opportunity to Get More Steps?

Where you live has an undeniable impact on your overall health.

Latino families tend to live in neighborhoods that lack access to safe, affordable recreational facilities and parks, a Salud America! research review shows.

This situation heightens Latinos’ risk of diabetes, obesity, and heart disease.

Fitbit’s data shows that people in largely Latino states, mostly in the South, tend to have both fewer daily steps and higher rates of diabetes and heart disease. Results are more mixed between daily steps and obesity rates.

Several strategies are emerging to increase opportunities for equitable active spaces:

Active Spaces - Safe NeighborhoodShared use agreements—formal contracts between a school and a city, county, or sports league, that outline terms and conditions for sharing existing physical activity facilities—have helped increase access to active spaces in some Latino communities.

Improved park maintenance and safety increases Latinos’ use of active spaces. Safer routes and streets improve young Latinos’ access to active spaces.

Salud Heroes of active spaces are using these strategies today.

For example, Fany Mendez, who teaches fitness classes for Westwood Unidos all over the largely Latino neighborhood of Westwood in Denver (31.2% Latino), learned about a small building set to be torn down on land owned by Re:Vision.

So they raised money to turn the building into a community center named La Casita.

La Casita now hosts educational and physical activity classes taught by Mendez and other local community members.

“We’ve already seen a growth in participation of about 60-70 percent” after opening, Mendez said. “[The community] can be preventive with their health, in conjunction with physical exercise.”

By The Numbers By The Numbers

33

percent

of Latinos live within walking distance (<1 mile) of a park

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