How many steps should you take daily for your health? Recommendations vary, making any answer a gamble.
A new worldwide study published Thursday in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology offers more specific guidance, with a twist.Both your daily step count and pace matter.Research indicated that walking faster lowered the death risk regardless of the daily step count.
This makes sense because moderate-to-vigorous exercise is best for cardiovascular health. Most individuals should exercise 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity activity per week, according to the CDC.
Like previous studies, the faster one walks, the more health benefits one might expect. A 2022 U.K. study indicated that walking quickly and taking 10,000 steps a day lowers dementia risk.
A 2022 Brazilian study indicated that vascular stiffness was less prevalent for people who walked more and faster.Brazilian researchers recommended moderate exercise for older people of 100 steps per minute, 30 minutes a day, five days a week. A 2011 multinational study found that 100 steps per minute was moderate exercise.
How many steps should you take daily?
In the latest international investigation, Dutch, Spanish, and American researchers evaluated data from 12 trials with over 111,000 participants. Their findings include:
- Compared to 2,000 daily steps, 2,500 daily step lowered the death risk by 8%.
- At 2,700 daily steps, the risk of fatal and nonfatal cardiovascular disease events, including heart attack and stroke, was 11% lower than at 2,000.
- For a 51% decrease in fatal and nonfatal cardiovascular disease events, 7,000 daily steps are ideal.
- For a 60% reduction in all-cause mortality, 9,000 daily steps are ideal.
- Each 1,000 daily steps, or 10 minutes of walking, reduces your risk of mortality, but not consistently.
- Low-activity people will benefit from 500 daily steps, or five minutes of walking.
- Popular knowledge suggests 10,000 steps per day. The study authors claimed the guidance came from Japan in the 1960s, but there is no evidence.
Several studies have made similar recommendations:
- An August 2023 study found 4,000 daily steps greatly reduce death risk.
- An October 2022 study found that 8,000 to 9,000 daily steps minimize the risk of diabetes, hypertension, sleep apnea, GERD, depression, and obesity.
- A May 2019 study found that 4,400 daily steps reduced death risk by 41% compared to 2,700 steps, with no additional risk reduction after 7,500 steps.
The epidemic lowered the stairs.
The finding comes as experts recognize the pandemic’s long-term health repercussions on society. Research published earlier this year found that daily steps dropped during COVID-19 and have yet to recover.
Vanderbilt University researchers tracked nearly 5,500 people’s daily steps before and during the outbreak. After the epidemic, study participants took 700 fewer steps per day, or a third of a mile less.Pre-pandemic steps averaged 7,808 daily. Steps after COVID averaged 7,089.
The average American walks 3,000 to 4,000 steps per day, or 1.5 to 2 kilometers, say Mayo Clinic specialists. Vanderbilt researchers consider sedentary those who walk less than 5,000 steps daily.
Too many steps?
The worldwide study team behind the new report says there are not too many steps.
“Our study showed that even as many as 16,000 steps a day do not pose a risk,” said study coauthor Francisco Ortega, a sports science instructor at the University of Granada in Spain. Beyond 10,000 steps, risk reduction barely matters.
According to Mayo specialists, those who comfortably reach 10,000 steps a day should aim higher. If you haven’t reached 10,000 daily steps, add 1,000 steps every day for two weeks before reaching the goal again.
Ways to add on Daily Steps.
The America on the Move Foundation suggests some simple strategies to add steps to your day:
Walk to get the mail and circle the block again.
Discuss the day with family on an after-dinner walk.
Before your morning commute, walk to recharge.
Form an office walking group.
Avoid escalators and elevators by taking the stairs.
Play golf without a cart.