Here’s The Actual Number Of Steps You Should Walk Per Day (It’s Not 10,000)

We’re often told we need to walk "X number" of steps every day in order to stay healthy, although most of these claims are made by people who talk the talk but can’t walk the walk. With little or no scientific evidence to back up these daily benchmarks, it has until now remained unclear exactly how many times we should be putting one foot in front of the other.

Yet all that has just changed thanks to a new study which finds that 7,000 steps may be the ideal target to aim for. Previously, it had been suggested that 10,000 strides was the optimal number, yet the researchers say that while the benefits of walking increase with every step we take, these gains tend to taper off once you march past 7,000.

“Although 10,000 steps per day, an unofficial target for decades without a clear evidence base, was associated with substantially lower risks for all-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease incidence, cancer mortality, dementia, and depressive symptoms than 7,000 steps per day, the incremental improvement beyond 7,000 steps per day was small, and there was no statistical difference between 7,000 steps per day and a higher step count for all the other outcomes,” write the study authors.

To reach this conclusion, the team reviewed the results of 57 studies conducted over the past 11 years, in which health outcomes were cross-referenced against the number of steps taken per day. Study participants wore pedometers or other step-tracking devices, allowing the researchers to observe how each 1,000-step increase affected overall wellbeing.

Results showed that compared to a baseline of 2,000 steps per day, 7,000 daily steps was associated with a 47 percent lower risk of death from any cause, as well as a 25 percent reduction in the risk of developing cardiovascular disease and a 37 percent drop in the risk of dying from cancer. A 38 percent decrease in the probability of dementia was also reported, as was a 22 percent reduction in the likelihood of experiencing depression.

Commenting on these findings in a statement, study author Professor Melody Ding said, “Aiming for 7,000 steps is a realistic goal based on our findings, which assessed health outcomes in a range of areas that hadn’t been looked at before."

“However, for those who cannot yet achieve 7,000 steps a day, even small increases in step counts, such as increasing from 2,000 to 4,000 steps a day, are associated with significant health gain,” she said. Indeed, this moderate hike in daily steps was associated with a 36 percent lower risk of death.

Yet while more steps generally equals better health, study author Dr Katherine Owen explained that the returns do tend to diminish once you surpass a certain point. “For people who are already active, 10,000 steps a day is great,” she said. “But beyond 7,000 steps, the extra benefits for most of the health outcomes we looked at were modest.”

Rather than obsessing over your footsteps, then, the researchers say you should just try to walk as much as possible. “The message that every step counts for those who are able should be emphasised as a core public health message, regardless of the specific quantitative target,” they write. 

The study is published in The Lancet Public Health.