How many steps a day can cut risk of early death (and it’s not 10,000)

A recent study suggests that taking just 4,000 steps per day may lower the risk of early mortality, with additional steps providing even greater health benefits, according to researchers.

The prevalence of fitness trackers and smartphones has heightened people’s emphasis on reaching the esteemed goal of 10,000 steps per day.

However, a recent study, published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, suggests that the threshold for the number of steps required to improve health may be lower than previously believed.

In a groundbreaking discovery, researchers determined that taking a minimum of 3,967 steps per day initiated a decrease in the risk of mortality from any cause.

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Furthermore, embarking on at least 2,337 steps daily commenced the reduction of the risk of mortality from heart diseases.

This study, the most extensive of its kind to date, ultimately affirmed that the greater the number of steps taken, the lower the risk of premature death.

Even with a daily step count as high as 20,000, researchers observed a continued escalation in health benefits.

Their analysis revealed a significant decrease in the risk of mortality from any cause or cardiovascular disease with every additional 500 to 1,000 steps taken per day.

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Remarkably, an increase of 1,000 steps daily corresponded to a 15 percent reduction in the risk of mortality from any cause, while an extra 500 steps per day correlated with a seven percent decrease in mortality from cardiovascular disease.

Led by Maciej Banach, a professor of cardiology at the Medical University of Lodz in Poland and an adjunct professor at the Ciccarone Centre for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in the US, the study encompassed data from 17 distinct studies involving nearly 227,000 individuals.

A daily brisk walk can give your body a boost, lift your mood and make everyday activities easier.

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Participants were monitored over an average span of seven years.

Prof. Banach remarked, “Our study validates that increased walking leads to better health outcomes. This holds true for both genders, regardless of age, and irrespective of geographic location, whether residing in temperate, sub-tropical, or sub-polar regions, or areas with a blend of climates.

“In addition, our analysis indicates that as little as 4,000 steps a day are needed to significantly reduce deaths from any cause, and even fewer to reduce deaths from cardiovascular disease.”

“In a world where we have more and more advanced drugs to target specific conditions such as cardiovascular disease, I believe we should always emphasise that lifestyle changes, including diet and exercise, which was a main hero of our analysis, might be at least as, or even more effective in reducing cardiovascular risk and prolonging lives.”

It’s #NationalWalkingMonth. Did you know, walking briskly can help build stamina, burn calories and make your heart healthier?

You don’t have to walk for hours. A brisk 10-minute daily walk has lots of health benefits.

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Dr. Ibadete Bytyci, of the University Clinical Centre of Kosovo and senior author of the study, stated, “Thus far, the optimal number of steps for reaping health benefits, including the threshold at which these benefits commence and whether there’s an upper limit, has remained unclear. However, it’s important to note that our findings are based on limited data concerning step counts exceeding 20,000 per day. Hence, further validation in larger cohorts is necessary.”

Health officials in England previously urged people to focus on increase the pace of their walking, rather than just focus on the distance or number of steps.

People should “focus on brisk walking, not just 10,000 steps”, according to 2018 advice from Public Health England and the Royal College of GPs.