We have all heard it before, 10 000 steps a day is the route to a healthier life. The problem is that, for many people, 10 000 steps a day is a lot. Modern life sitting at a desk, or behind the wheel of a car doesn’t give much opportunity to get out and do the full 10 000 and this can lead even those who are trying to give up. The good news is that a new study published this week has shown that just 4 000 steps a day can have significant benefits and is associated with a lower risk of death.
The research pooled the results of 17 studies across six countries on the health benefits associated with step counts and found that even the least active people in the studies, with roughly 4000 steps each a day, still saw a reduced risk of death from any cause. The more steps people took, the lower their risk of dying.
In total, the studies looked at over 220 000 participants and discovered that extra walking after 4000 did make a noticeable impact on health. According to researchers, each extra 1000 steps taken improved a person’s risk of death by an additional 15%. Amazingly as the step count climbed so too did the benefits with absolutely no discernible upper limit even after 20 000 steps a day. Naturally, these step counts were found to benefit younger people more than the elderly for whom other factors begin to override the fitness achievements.
When looking at the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease in particular, the researcher team discovered walking at least 2,337 steps per day lowered the risk, with each extra 500 daily steps associated with an additional 7% reduction in risk.
“The main message is that we should have as many steps as possible and we should start as early as possible in order to have the highest health benefits,” said Dr. Maciej Banach, the study’s lead author and a cardiology professor at the Medical University of Lodz in Poland.
What’s clear is that while more steps are definitely better, you can already start helping yourself with just 2500 a day.
