Stair use for cardiovascular disease prevention.

Introduction There is no doubt that higher physical activity and fitness levels are inversely associated with the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) [1]. Yet, most Europeans and Americans do not meet current minimum physical activity recommendations [2] and the prevalence of CVD risk factors related to a sedentary lifestyle, such as obesity and diabetes, is increasing at an alarming rate [3,4]. To counter those trends, there is an urgent need to develop population strategies aiming to increase physical activity. Stair use is inexpensive and can be easily integrated into everyday life by most of the population. Stair climbing represents vigorous-intensity physical activity with oxygen uptake reaching approximately 80% of maximal values in young healthy adults, corresponding up to nearly 10 metabolic equivalents (METs) of energy expenditure [5], sufficient to improve cardiorespiratory fitness [6]. In the Harvard College alumni cohort study, stair climbing was associated with a significant decrease in mortality risk of Z 21% for people climbing Z 20 floors compared with those climbing less than 20 floors per week [1]. The purpose of this study is to review studies that evaluated the effects of stair use on fitness and CVD risk factors, present results of the recent Geneva Stair study, and finally formulate general conclusions on the promotion of stair use for CVD prevention at a population level.