Study Finds Continuous Walking Improves Cardiovascular Health

An international team of researchers from the University of Sydney and the Universidad Europea in Spain discovered that sustained walking sessions offer stronger protection for heart health than fragmented activity. Their work, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, explored how walking patterns affect the health of people who are generally inactive.

Among individuals averaging fewer than 8000 steps per day, those who concentrated their walking into one or two sessions lasting at least 10-15 minutes had a significantly lower risk of death and cardiovascular events (including heart attacks and strokes) than those whose steps came from many short bouts lasting under five minutes.

One or Two Steady Walks Can Make a Big Difference

Co-lead author Dr. Matthew Ahmadi, Deputy Director of the Mackenzie Wearables Research Hub and member of the Charles Perkins Centre at the University of Sydney, explained: “For the most inactive people, switching from brief walks here and there to longer continuous walks may come with some health benefits.

“There is a perception that health professionals have recommended walking 10,000 steps a day is the goal, but this isn’t necessary. Simply adding one or two longer walks per day, each lasting at least 10-15 minutes at a comfortable but steady pace, may have significant benefits — especially for people who don’t walk much.”

Tracking Step Patterns Over Time

The study involved 33,560 adults between the ages of 40 and 79 who typically walked fewer than 8000 steps a day and had no history of cardiovascular disease or cancer. Participants wore research-grade wristbands for one week to record both their step counts and how their steps were distributed throughout the day.

Researchers followed their health outcomes for about eight years and found striking differences in cardiovascular risk between those who walked in short versus longer bouts:

• People who walked continuously for 10-15 minutes daily had only a 4 percent chance of experiencing a cardiovascular event such as a heart attack or stroke, compared to a 13 percent risk among those who walked continuously for just 5 minutes a day.
• The benefits were greatest for the least active individuals, particularly those taking 5000 steps or fewer. Within this group, the risk of developing cardiovascular disease fell from 15 percent among short walkers to 7 percent among those who walked up to 15 minutes at a time.
• Among the most sedentary participants (5000 steps a day or less), the risk of death dropped from 5 percent for those walking in 5-minute bouts to under 1 percent for those with longer walks.

Why Step Patterns Matter

Senior author Professor Emmanuel Stamatakis, Director of the Mackenzie Wearables Research Hub and physical activity theme leader at the Charles Perkins Centre, noted: “We tend to place all the emphasis on the number of steps or the total amount of walking but neglect the crucial role of patterns, for example ‘how’ walking is done.

“This study shows that even people who are very physically inactive can maximize their heart health benefit by tweaking their walking patterns to walk for longer at a time, ideally for at least 10-15 minutes, when possible.”

Simple Changes, Big Results

Co-lead author Dr. Borja del Pozo from the Universidad Europea added: “Our research shows that simple changes can make all the difference to your health. If you walk a little, set aside some time to walk more often and in longer sessions. Such small changes can have a big impact.”

Studying Pasta at the Microscopic Level

Researchers used advanced scientific tools to analyze the inner structure of both regular and gluten-free spaghetti purchased straight from the store. Their observations revealed that gluten provides vital structural support during cooking, helping pasta maintain its texture and shape.

“We were able to show that the gluten in regular spaghetti acts as a safety net that preserves the starch. The gluten-free pasta, which contains an artificial matrix, only works optimally under exactly the right cooking conditions — otherwise the structure easily falls apart,” explains Andrea Scotti, senior lecturer in physical chemistry at Lund University.

To uncover these details, Scotti employed small-angle neutron scattering and X-ray techniques. These methods allowed the team to examine food on a microscopic scale (down to a billionth of a meter) and connect those molecular observations to everyday characteristics like texture, shelf life, and glycemic index.

Salt’s Surprising Role in Pasta Perfection

The researchers also discovered that the salt added to the pasta water influences the final outcome.

“Our results show that regular pasta has higher tolerance, or better structural resistance, to less optimal cooking conditions such as being cooked for too long or too much salt being added to the water. So, cooking pasta with the right amount of salt is not just a matter of taste — it also affects the microstructure of the pasta and thus the whole dining experience,” says Andrea Scotti.

Toward Better Gluten-Free Alternatives

Next, the research team plans to expand its work by examining more pasta varieties and production methods. They also aim to simulate digestion to understand how the pasta’s molecular structure changes once inside the human stomach.

“With demand for gluten-free alternatives increasing, we hope that our methods can help develop more durable and nutritious products that stand up to the demands placed on them by both the cooking process and by consumers,” adds Scotti.

This study was carried out in collaboration with Judith Houston, lead instrument scientist for the LoKI instrument at the European Spallation Source (ESS) in Lund, Sweden, along with scientists from the Institut Laue-Langevin in France and the Diamond Light Source and ISIS Neutron and Muon Source in the UK.

Their research, published in the Royal Society of Chemistry’s journal Food and Function, examined how polyphenol oxidase (PPO) — an enzyme found naturally in many fruits and vegetables — affects the body’s ability to take in flavanols. These bioactive compounds are linked to improved heart and brain health and are abundant in foods like apples, pears, blueberries, blackberries, grapes, and cocoa (all popular smoothie ingredients).

Lead author Javier Ottaviani, director of the Core Laboratory of Mars Edge, part of Mars, Inc., and adjunct researcher at UC Davis, explained: “We sought to understand, on a very practical level, how a common food and food preparation like a banana-based smoothie could affect the availability of flavanols to be absorbed after intake.”

Anyone who has sliced an apple or peeled a banana has seen the fruit quickly turn brown. That browning occurs when PPO reacts with oxygen after the fruit is cut or bruised. The UC Davis team wanted to know if that same enzyme activity affects how much of these beneficial flavanols the body absorbs when fruits are blended together in smoothies.

Bananas vs. Berries: The Smoothie Showdown

To test this, participants consumed two different smoothies — one made with banana, which has high PPO activity, and another made with mixed berries, which have low PPO activity. They also took a flavanol capsule for comparison. Afterward, researchers measured flavanol levels in blood and urine samples.

The results were striking. People who drank the banana smoothie had 84% lower flavanol levels compared to those who took the control capsule.

“We were really surprised to see how quickly adding a single banana decreased the level of flavanols in the smoothie and the levels of flavanol absorbed in the body,” Ottaviani said. “This highlights how food preparation and combinations can affect the absorption of dietary compounds in foods.”

What Are Flavanols?

Flavanols are natural compounds found in foods like cocoa, berries, apples, and grapes. They’re part of a larger group of plant nutrients called polyphenols and are known for supporting heart and brain health. Research suggests that flavanols can help improve blood flow, support memory, and reduce inflammation when consumed regularly.

Choosing the Right Fruit Pairings

In 2022, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics recommended consuming 400 to 600 milligrams of flavanols each day for cardiometabolic health. Ottaviani noted that for people aiming to reach that target, it helps to pair flavanol-rich fruits such as berries with ingredients that have low PPO activity, like pineapple, oranges, mango, or yogurt.

Bananas are still a nutritious fruit, but Ottaviani advised that if you enjoy banana smoothies, it may be best not to mix them with flavanol-heavy foods like berries, grapes, or cocoa. The same principle applies to other foods with high PPO activity, including beet greens.

Ottaviani added that these findings could open the door to more studies on how food preparation affects nutrient absorption. For instance, tea is a major dietary source of flavanols, and the way it is brewed could alter how many of those compounds become available for the body to absorb.

“This is certainly an area that deserves more attention in the field of polyphenols and bioactive compounds in general,” said Ottaviani.

Jodi Ensunsa, Reedmond Fong, Jennifer Kimball and Alan Crozier, all affiliated with the UC Davis Department of Nutrition and researchers affiliated with the UC Davis Department of Internal Medicine, University of Reading, King Saud University and Mars, Inc. contributed to the research.

The study was funded by a research grant from Mars, Inc., which collaborates with researchers to study potential benefits of cocoa flavanols for human health.