Walking 20 minutes at a moderate pace each day is associated with improved cardiovascular outcomes in patients with impaired glucose tolerance, according to a study published in The Lancet.

People who walked 2,000 steps more per day at baseline had a 10% lower risk of cardiovascular death, paralysis or heart attack during an average follow–up of 6 years, according to Thomas Yates, PhD, of the University of Leicester in England, and colleagues. And those who increased the amount they walked by 2,000 steps per day from baseline to 1 year had a similar reduction in risk of cardiovascular events.

The findings from NAVIGATOR trial support both the promotion of increased ambulatory activity, and the avoidance of decreased ambulatory activity irrespective of the starting level, as important targets in the prevention of chronic disease.