Today is the last class in our current four class set. We will start class with a casual conversation. Our reading this week is about how many friends you need. Please focus on the vocabulary words. We will finish the reading with the phrasal verb sentence creation. Our listening is about 10,000 steps. Please listen and follow the transcript. We will finish class with our grammar review. Writing the sentences on a separate piece of paper by hand is a wonderful way to practice. For today’s mini grammar we will practice “might, might be able to, or might have to” sentences.
Click HERE for the reading
AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:
When it comes to physical activity, taking 10,000 steps per day may sound like a familiar goal. The idea was popularized decades ago by a marketing campaign in Japan for a pedometer. But as NPR's Allison Aubrey reports, a new study published in JAMA Internal Medicine finds a far fewer number of steps reduce the risk of premature death.
ALLISON AUBREY, BYLINE: Researchers suspected there was nothing magical about 10,000 steps. To find out, I-Min Lee of Brigham and Women's Hospital and her collaborators studied a group of about 17,000 women. Their average age was 72, and they all agreed to clip on a wearable device to count their steps.
I-MIN LEE: They wore it during all waking hours for seven days.
AUBREY: And then, for the next four to five years, the researchers kept up with the women. It turns out 4,400 steps a day seemed enough to boost longevity. Women who walked that amount were 40% less likely to die during the study, compared to women who took just 2,700 steps a day, on average. I asked Lee if she was surprised by the results.
LEE: It was sort of surprising because this was below the 10,000 steps a day.
AUBREY: In general, the more the women walked, the greater the benefit. But here's another surprise. There was a point of diminishing returns. The benefits leveled off at about 7,500 steps a day, meaning the women who got more than that got no additional boost in longevity. So much for that goal of 10,000 steps.
LEE: Yes, I think the original basis of the number really was not scientifically determined.
AUBREY: Kathleen Janz of the University of Iowa studies how exercise influences health outcomes.
KATHLEEN JANZ: I love this study. I think this is really good news for women who may not be particularly active.
AUBREY: Janz helped to shape the federal exercise recommendations. She says the message from this study is that for older women, just light walking is really beneficial.
JANZ: They didn't need to go to the gym. They didn't need to invest in a personal trainer or exercise equipment.
AUBREY: All they had to do was walk.
JANZ: To me, the study suggests that there's probably more benefit in terms of light activity than we were previously thinking that there might be.
AUBREY: And Janz says that's encouraging. Allison Aubrey, NPR News.