{"id":611644,"date":"2026-09-01T22:48:10","date_gmt":"2026-09-01T22:48:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/611644\/"},"modified":"2026-09-01T22:48:10","modified_gmt":"2026-09-01T22:48:10","slug":"take-the-stairs-to-live-longer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/611644\/","title":{"rendered":"Take the stairs to live longer"},"content":{"rendered":"

Taking the stairs could slash the risk of an early death, according to a study by British scientists.<\/p>\n

It could also help stave off heart attacks, heart failure and stroke.<\/p>\n

Choosing the stairs over escalators or lifts is a \u201cpractical and often overlooked way\u201d to incorporate exercise into daily life, and could help people who do not have time for the gym, the researchers said.<\/p>\n

The experts at the University of East Anglia (UEA) and Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital (NNUH) analysed five studies involving more than 450,000 people.<\/p>\n

They found people who regularly climbed stairs were 39% less likely to die from heart problems and 24% less likely to die from any cause, compared with those who did not use the stairs as often.<\/p>\n

The findings, published in the American Journal of Cardiovascular Drugs, also suggest that stair-climbing may be linked to a fall in heart issues such as heart attacks, heart failure and stroke.<\/p>\n

ALSO READ:\u00a0Climb the stairs to lower your risk of heart disease<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cUnlike going to the gym or doing a workout, climbing the stairs is something you can easily fit into your day at home, at work or when you\u2019re out,\u201d\u00a0said study lead author and NNUH cardiology trainee Dr Sophie Paddock.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a good option for people who don\u2019t have much time or easy access to exercise.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo if you have the choice of taking the stairs or the lift, go for the stairs as it will help your heart,\u201d\u00a0she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven brief bursts of physical activity have beneficial health impacts, and short bouts of stair-climbing should be an achievable target to integrate into daily routines.\u201d<\/p>\n

One study included in the review suggests climbing just six flights of stairs \u2013 the equivalent of 60 steps \u2013 could be beneficial.<\/p>\n

ALSO READ:\u00a0Stay healthy by taking the stairs and doing housework<\/a><\/p>\n

Cardiovascular (heart) disease is the leading cause of death worldwide, with cases nearly doubling between 1990 and 2019, said study senior author and UEA\u2019s Norwich Medical School clinical professor of cardiac medicine Dr Vassilios Vassiliou.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut it is largely preventable through a healthy lifestyle, including regular physical activity, a heart-healthy diet, not smoking, maintaining a healthy weight, and managing blood pressure, cholesterol, and diabetes,\u201d\u00a0he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cTaking the stairs is a practical and often overlooked way to build physical activity into daily life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Britain-based Stroke Association chief executive Juliet Bouverie said the research adds to our growing understanding of the link between physical health and stroke risk.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is encouraging that something as simple as taking the stairs could reduce the risk of early death and may also be linked to fewer cardiovascular health problems, including strokes,\u201d\u00a0she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe continue to remind people that as a preventative measure, exercise alongside a healthy diet, not smoking and monitoring alcohol intake can minimise the chances of having a stroke.<\/p>\n

\u201cRegularly monitoring blood pressure, the single biggest risk factor for stroke, is also important.\u201d \u2013 PA Media\/dpa<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Taking the stairs could slash the risk of an early death, according to a study by British scientists.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":611645,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[1348,499,103,2119,4037,61,60],"class_list":["post-611644","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fitness","tag-exercise","tag-fitness","tag-health","tag-healthy-lifestyle","tag-heart-health","tag-ie","tag-ireland"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/611644","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=611644"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/611644\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/611645"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=611644"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=611644"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=611644"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}