Getty imagesWalking 7,000 steps a day can be enough to increase your brain and help protect from a range of different diseases, suggests a major study.
It can be a more realistic target than 10,000 stages, which is often considered to be the reference to be achieved.
Research, published in Lancet Public Health, revealed that the figure was linked to a reduced risk of serious health problems, including cancer, dementia and heart disease.
The results could encourage more people to follow their steps as a practical way to improve their health, according to researchers.
“We have this perception that we should make 10,000 stages per day,” explains the main author Dr Melody Ding, “but it is not based on evidence”.
Ten thousand steps work about five miles or eight kilometers. The precise distance will be different for everyone, varying depending on the stride length which depends on the height, the sex and the walking speed, with faster walkers trendy to make longer progress.
The figure of 10,000 stages dates back a marketing campaign from the 1960s in Japan. From the perspective of the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games, a pedometer brand was launched entitled Manpo-Kei, which results in “10,000 stages counter”.
Dr. Ding says that this figure has been “out of context” and has become an unofficial directive that many trackers and fitness applications continue to recommend.
The Lancet study has analyzed prior research and data on health and activity of more than 160,000 adults around the world.
Compared to those who have traveled 2,000 steps a day, he found that 7,000 steps were linked to a reduction in the risk of:
- Cardiovascular disease – down 25%
- Cancer – down 6%
- Dementia – down 38%
- and depression – down 22%
However, researchers say that some figures could be less precise than others because they are only drawn from a small number of studies.
Overall, their examination suggests that still modest accounts of approximately 4,000 stages per day are linked to better health compared to a very low activity of only 2,000 steps per day.
For most health problems, the advantages have tended to move beyond 7,000 stages, although there have been additional advantages to walk further for the heart.
“ It is about going out and going out ”
Jon Stride says that he exceeded this reference – often reaching 16,000 steps a day – told the BBC that he thought we should not focus on the figures.
“It is a question of going out and the advantages for our mental well-being which are tangible but not as easy to quantify as the number of simple steps.”
The 64 -year -old started walking every day after undergoing a heart attack in 2022 – inspired by his stepfather, who had a heart attack at the same age.
“I live in a rural city in Dorset, and I usually have a good hour of walking in the morning. I am the only person to walk without a dog.”
Jon said that counting his steps on his phone has provided a good challenge as well as health benefits: “You go up to a certain level, and you think I can continue to walk.”
Getty imagesMost guidelines for the exercise focus on the time spent doing physical activity during the stages.
For example, the World Health Organization claims that adults should make at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity each week.
Dr. Ding says that this advice can sometimes be difficult to understand for people, but current directives are still used an important goal.
“There are people swimming, cycle or have physical disabilities that do not allow them to take measures,” she explains.
But she says that a recommendation on the number of measures that people should take could be included as “addition”.
Dr. Daniel Bailey, an expert in sedentary behavior and health at Brunel London University, said the study calls into question the “myth” that 10,000 stages per day are required.
While 10,000 stages is an appropriate objective for those who are more active, it says that the fact of 5,000 to 7,000 could be a “more realistic and achievable target” for others.
Dr. Andrew Scott, lecturer in physiology of clinical exercise at the University of Portsmouth, agrees that the exact number is not important.
He says that “the better it is better” and that people should not be too worried about reaching a specific target, especially on days when activity is limited.
Azeem Majeed, general practitioner and professor at the Imperial College in London, said for the elderly or people with chronic health problems, a lower number of passes would still be beneficial.
Although, he says, “walking generally is a fairly low effort activity”, people with heart disease, arthritis or chronic pulmonary disease can find it more difficult.
But he says that even doing household chores “like vacuum cleaners or gardening” can be part of daily physical activity.
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