section_path: Endocrine functions of skeletal muscle/Walking, using skeletal muscles, affects mortality
section_name: Walking, using skeletal muscles, affects mortality
paragraph_text: Walking, using skeletal muscles, affects mortality
  
  Paluch et al. compared the average number of steps walked per day to the risk of mortality, both for adults over 60 years old and for adults under 60 years old. The study was a meta-analysis of 15 studies, which, combined, evaluated 47,471 adults over a period of 7 years. Individuals were divided into approximately equal quartiles. The lowest quartile averaged 3,553 steps/day, the second quartile 5,801 steps/day, the third quartile 7,842 steps/day and the fourth quartile 10,901 steps/day. The briskness of walking, adjusted for the volume of walking, did not affect mortality. However, the number of steps/day was clearly related to mortality. When risk of mortality for those over 60 years old was set at 1.0 for the lowest quartile of steps/day, the relative risk of mortality for the second, third and fourth quartiles were 0.56, 0.45, and 0.35, respectively. For those under 60 years of age, the results were less pronounced. For those under 60 years of age, with the first quartile risk of mortality set at 1.0, the second, third and fourth quartile relative risks of mortality were 0.57, 0.42 and 0.53, respectively. Thus, use of skeletal muscles in walking has a large effect, especially among older individuals, on mortality.