New Study Finds Walking Just Under 4,000 Steps a Day Can Reduce Risk of Early Death
According to a new review of evidence, getting enough steps in to stay healthy might be easier than expected. The study found that walking just under 4,000 steps a day is associated with a reduced risk of early death, while even less than 2,500 steps a day could cut the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease. These benefits were found to increase with more steps taken regularly.
The research, a collaboration between scientists in Europe and the United States, aimed to better quantify the number of steps needed for adequate physical activity. While the commonly referenced goal of 10,000 steps per day has been widely recommended for good physical health, it actually originates from a marketing campaign in the 1960s by a Japanese company that wanted to sell their pedometers. The new study seeks to challenge this common belief.
The team conducted a meta-analysis of 17 different studies from around the world, which involved a total of over 200,000 people. The studies measured physical activity through step count, with 2,000 steps considered equivalent to a mile or 1.6 kilometers. People’s health outcomes, including death, were tracked for an average of seven years.
The researchers found a significant association between physical activity and a reduced risk of early death at just 3,867 steps per day. For cardiovascular-related deaths, potential benefits could be seen at a minimum of 2,337 steps a day. Additionally, the team found that there seemed to be no limit to the benefits of walking more steps, with the positive effects continuing up to 20,000 steps a day.
The findings, published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, do have some limitations. The studies analyzed did not all use the same method for counting steps, which could affect the interpretation of the results. Moreover, the research only establishes a correlation between walking steps and reduced mortality risk, not a direct cause-and-effect relationship.
However, the study is the first of its kind to account for variables such as regional climate differences, age, and gender. The authors emphasize that even though the reduction in mortality risk was slightly lower for individuals over 60 compared to younger people, the research confirms the long-standing belief that physical activity, even in small amounts, is beneficial.
“Our study confirms that the more you walk, the better,” said study author Maciej Banach, a professor of cardiology at the Medical University of Lodz in Poland. “We found that this applied to both men and women, irrespective of age, and irrespective of whether you live in a temperate, sub-tropical, or sub-polar region of the world, or a region with a mixture of climates.”
Overall, this study provides further evidence of the positive impact of physical activity on health and emphasizes the importance of integrating movement into daily routines.