Climbing stairs is as effective as walking 10,000 steps, says new study

Walking is a great form of exercise that improves

cardiovascular health

, bone strength, and weight loss.

Walking 10,000 steps

is ideal as it helps your body develop mobility and balance and helps in controlling blood sugar levels.
While walking is a great exercise, it takes a lot of time to reduce calories or get desired results in less time. Walking requires a lot of time and consistency to show results. However, a study now conducted on 4,50,000 adults suggests an alternative to walking. It says climbing the stairs is as effective and efficient in lesser time.
A study published in the medical journal Atherosclerosis discovered that climbing 5 flights of stairs a day or roughly climbing 50 steps reduces the risk of cardiovascular issues by 20%. It also noted that climbing stairs frequently is beneficial for health.

Why is climbing stairs effective?

Compared to walking, climbing the stairs is equal to an uphill walk as it requires you to lift the body weight against gravity and it is a high-calorie burn exercise. Climbing the stairs also builds strength in muscles as the exercise targets the quads, hamstrings, glutes calves, and core muscles.
Similar to walking, climbing the steps elevates your heart rate quickly and it is the perfect cardio workout that develops endurance. While it is physically more demanding to climb the stairs than walking on a flat surface, the calories burnt while climbing the stairs are higher.

Climbing the stairs also helps in improving cardiovascular health, weight loss, strengthening muscles, and burning calories. It is a

high-intensity exercise

and it is a perfect choice as an alternative to walking when time is limited.
Though climbing stairs is more effective, it does not easily contribute to the 10,000 steps goal of the day as it is not a direct conversion. The 10,000 steps goal is based on a step length of 2.5 feet and steps are shorter when compared.
Climbing the stairs as an exercise includes both ascending and descending, and the tracker calculating both and displaying the total number of steps would be counted twice. For example, if you climb 100 stairs. The tracker could estimate that as contributing around 200 steps towards your daily goal.