At this point, we’re all familiar with the line that we should be walking at least 10,000 steps per day. ‘I’m getting my steps in’ is now a common phrase your mates might utter when out and about, in acknowledgment of this exact goal.
However, it turns out that after all this time, we might have been overestimating the number of steps needed to stay healthy.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), a lack of physical activity ranks as the fourth leading cause of death globally – but ensuring you move enough isn’t actually as strenuous as you may think.
In fact, a new study by Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and the Medical University of Lodz in Poland found the bare minimum number of steps you should be doing to reduce the risk of premature death from all causes is around 4,000 per day.
And they even suggested just over 2,300 daily steps is enough to benefit the heart and blood vessels.
What else did the study find?
The general consensus was that the more steps you do, the better. Researchers examined data from 226,889 participants across 17 studies and found that every addition of 1,000 daily steps decreased a person’s death risk by 15%, right up to 20,000 steps.
While walking is beneficial for everybody regardless of demographic, the benefits of walking appeared to be the most beneficial for people under 60 years of age.
Young adults that walked between 7,000 to 13,000 steps a day witnessed a huge 49% drop in their risk of premature death. For seniors walking between 6,000 and 10,000 steps per day, their risk was reduced by 42%.
“Until now, it’s not been clear what is the optimal number of steps, both in terms of the cut-off points over which we can start to see health benefits, and the upper limit, if any, and the role this plays in people’s health,” said Dr Ibadete Bytyçi, a senior author of the study from the University Clinical Centre of Kosovo.
If you don’t count your steps, the NHS recommends a brisk 10-minute daily walk has plenty of health benefits and counts towards your 150 minutes of weekly exercise, as recommended in the physical activity guidelines for adults aged 19 to 64.
How to walk more
If you’re not in the habit of walking a lot, the NHS has also shared some handy recommendations for doing more of it, including:
- Walking part of your journey to work
- Walking to the shops
- Using the stairs instead of the lift
- Leaving the car behind for short journeys
- Walking the kids to school
- Doing a regular walk with a friend
- Going for a walk with friends or family after dinner.
You might also want to listen to music or a podcast while walking, change your route to mix it up a little, or even join a walking group.
BRB, getting my steps in.