7,000 steps can reduce risk of depression: BBC Learning English from the News — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:00From BBC Learning English,
2. 0:02this is Learning English from the News, our podcast about the news headlines.
3. 0:06In this programme: 7,000 steps a day can reduce your risk of depression,
4. 0:11global study reveals.
5. 0:16Hello, I'm Georgie.
6. 0:17And I'm Beth.
7. 0:18In this programme, we look at one big news story
8. 0:21and the vocabulary in the headlines that will help you understand it.
9. 0:24You can find all the vocabulary and headlines from this episode,
10. 0:28as well as a worksheet, on our website:
11. 0:31bbclearningenglish.com.
12. 0:33OK, let's hear more about this story.
13. 0:38People who have a higher daily step count –
14. 0:41that's the number of steps you walk per day – have a lower risk of depression,
15. 0:46according to a new meta analysis.
16. 0:49Yes, a meta analysis is a study that pulls together the results of lots
17. 0:53of different research projects.
18. 0:55But walking improves mental health –
19. 0:57isn't that something we already knew?
20. 0:59Well, previous research had found that walking more was linked
21. 1:03to better heart health and a longer life in general.
22. 1:06But this new study might add mental health to that list, too.
23. 1:10The authors suggest that a daily active lifestyle might help to lower
24. 1:14the risk of depression in adults.
25. 1:16Let's have our first headline.
26. 1:18This one is from The Times in the UK.
27. 1:217,000 steps to happiness: how a daily stroll can fight depression.
28. 1:25And that headline again from The Times: 7,000 steps
29. 1:29to happiness: how a daily stroll can fight depression. Now, this
30. 1:34headline is about this new study's suggestion
31. 1:37that a daily stroll could be good for our mental health.
32. 1:40Daily means you do it every day.
33. 1:42But Beth, we're looking at this word 'stroll'.
34. 1:44What can you tell us about it?
35. 1:46Well, 'stroll' is another word for walk, but it's a bit more specific.
36. 1:51It means to walk in a relaxed, leisurely way.
37. 1:54So, what do you think is more important when you're strolling, Georgie –
38. 1:59the destination or the experience?
39. 2:02Well, you said 'stroll' is about relaxing,
40. 2:05so I guess we walk for the experience of walking.
41. 2:08And Beth, how is it used?
42. 2:10Well, in the headline it's a noun, 'a daily stroll',
43. 2:13and we often hear the combination 'go for a stroll' or 'let's go for a stroll'.
44. 2:19Yes, and like the word 'walk', it's also used as a verb.
45. 2:22For example, I strolled through the city streets after work to wind down.
46. 2:26And we have a lot of different words for walking in a relaxing way, don't we?
47. 2:31Yes, we do. We have 'amble', 'saunter', 'meander' and 'wander'.
48. 2:37So many good ones!
49. 2:39Should we go for a stroll now,
50. 2:40Georgie? No, Beth!
51. 2:41We've got two more headlines to talk about.
52. 2:43OK.
53. 2:47We've had: 'stroll' – a relaxed, leisurely walk. For example,
54. 2:51we went for a stroll around the old town to admire the architecture.
55. 2:59This is Learning English from the News, our podcast about the news headlines.
56. 3:04Today we're talking about a new study linking a higher step count
57. 3:08to lower risk of depression.
58. 3:10The study found that those who walked 7,000 daily steps had a much lower chance
59. 3:16of depression than those who walked 5,000 daily steps or fewer.
60. 3:21This might mean that 7,000 steps is enough to have a positive effect
61. 3:25on our mental health.
62. 3:26Which is fewer than the 10,000 steps that has been popularly thought of
63. 3:31as the best number.
64. 3:32Let's have our next headline.
65. 3:34OK. This one's from The Daily Mail.
66. 3:36Experts pinpoint the precise number
67. 3:38of daily steps you need to take to beat depression.
68. 3:41Spoiler alert – It's NOT 10,000.
69. 3:44And that headline again from The Daily Mail: Experts pinpoint
70. 3:49the precise number of daily steps you need to take to beat depression.
71. 3:53Spoiler alert – It's NOT 10,000.
72. 3:57OK, this headline is about the number
73. 3:59of steps that are supposed to reduce your risk of depression.
74. 4:02We're looking at the word 'pinpoint'.
75. 4:04Yes, it's a verb here.
76. 4:06'Experts pinpoint the precise number' is what the headline says,
77. 4:10and Georgie, I think it'll help if we break this word
78. 4:13'pinpoint' down.
79. 4:15Yes, we've got 'pin', which is a very thin, sharp metal object.
80. 4:20And then we've got 'point', which in this context is the sharp end of that pin.
81. 4:25OK. Now, imagine a noticeboard with a big map on it.
82. 4:29If I gave you a pin and asked you to pinpoint London on the map,
83. 4:34where would you put the pin?
84. 4:35Well, Beth, I would put the pin precisely in the middle of London.
85. 4:39Exactly. So, that is the literal meaning
86. 4:42of pinpoint – to precisely locate something physically.
87. 4:46OK, but these researchers aren't locating things with a pin on a map.
88. 4:50Here, 'experts pinpoint the number' is used metaphorically
89. 4:54to mean identify something precisely.
90. 4:57And we often hear it in combination with 'problem' –
91. 5:01'pinpoint a problem'.
92. 5:02For example, we need to pinpoint the problem
93. 5:05with the car before we can fix it.
94. 5:09We've had: 'pinpoint' – identify something precisely.
95. 5:13For example, it's difficult to pinpoint the moment
96. 5:16when their friendship started to fall apart.
97. 5:22This is Learning English from the News from BBC Learning English.
98. 5:27We're talking about how increasing your daily steps may lower your risk
99. 5:32of depression.
100. 5:33One of the study's authors says "getting more daily steps promotes mental health
101. 5:38by enhancing brain function, improving mood, reducing stress,
102. 5:42and encouraging positive behaviours".
103. 5:44But the authors also make it clear that just because people
104. 5:48with a higher step count had a lower risk of depression, it doesn't mean
105. 5:53that it's the 7,000 steps that cause that lower risk of depression.
106. 5:58OK, Beth, let's have another headline.
107. 6:00OK, this is from Medical Express.
108. 6:02Walking away from depression: How daily steps improve mental health.
109. 6:08That headline again: Walking away from depression:
110. 6:11How daily steps improve mental health.
111. 6:13And that's from Medical Express.
112. 6:16We're interested in this phrasal verb 'walk away from'. Now, Beth,
113. 6:20this seems simple.
114. 6:21If there's a bad smell,
115. 6:22I walk away from it.
116. 6:24Or if you say something mean to me, I'll walk away from you.
117. 6:27OK, well, that is the literal sense,
118. 6:30but you can't physically walk away from depression, like in the headline,
119. 6:34can you?
120. 6:35No. So this is the metaphorical sense. 'Walk away from' someone or something
121. 6:39means to leave an unpleasant situation or person.
122. 6:43Yes. For example, walking away from a bad relationship
123. 6:47means finally breaking up with someone who wasn't treating you well.
124. 6:51Yes, or you can walk away from a job you don't like by quitting.
125. 6:55So, walk away from depression,
126. 6:57metaphorically, means to not be depressed anymore.
127. 7:00But you may have noticed there's a double meaning here...
128. 7:03Yes, because we're talking about a study
129. 7:06about walking to reduce the risk of depression,
130. 7:09it has a literal meaning as well –
131. 7:11literally walking to get rid of depression.
132. 7:17We've had: 'walk away from' someone or something –
133. 7:21leave an unpleasant situation or person.
134. 7:24For example, I had to finally walk away from my jewellery business
135. 7:27because it wasn't making any money.
136. 7:29I didn't know you had a jewellery business.
137. 7:32That's it for this episode of Learning English from the News.
138. 7:35We'll be back next week with another news story.
139. 7:38And if you enjoyed learning that final phrasal verb 'walk away from',
140. 7:42we have a whole series on phrasal verbs –
141. 7:45Phrasal verbs with Georgie.
142. 7:46That's you! Yes, that's me.
143. 7:48You can find it on our website, bbclearningenglish.com.
144. 7:52And don't forget to follow us on social media.
145. 7:54Just search BBC Learning English.
146. 7:57Bye for now. Bye!