A new study suggests that the conventional 10,000 steps a day recommendation may be recommending more than is necessary, at least in terms of certain health metrics.
A major new study suggests that walking 7,000 steps a day can be sufficient to boost brainpower and help protect against a range of diseases. However, the study also notes that going beyond that total can still yield additional benefits in terms of heart health, so consider continuing your daily walks for as long as possible.
According to the new Lancet study, which examined previous research and data on more than 160,000 adults around the world, walking 7,000 steps a day, compared to 2,000, was linked with the following benefits:
- 25% reduction in cardiovascular disease.
- 6% drop in cancer rates.
- 38% reduction in dementia.
- 25% fewer instances of depression.
So, where did the 10,000-step recommendation come from?
The neat, round number can be traced back to a marketing campaign in Japan leading up to the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. A company was launching a pedometer, or step counter, called the manpo-kei, which translates as “10,000-step meter.”
According to the lead author of the recent study, Dr. Melody Ding, the figure was “taken out of context,” as reported by the BBC. Nevertheless, the number stuck, and it continues to be touted as an ideal daily goal.
The latest findings, however, come with caveats. According to the researchers, some of the purported benefits are less accurate than others since they were sourced from a smaller number of studies. Regardless, even getting roughly 4,000 steps a day, say the authors, is correlated with better health.
In March, The Dallas Express reported on a previous study from researchers from the National Institute of Health (NIH) and the University of Oxford that examined data from more than 85,000 adults in the U.K. The study found that individuals who took 7,000 steps per day had an 11% lower risk of cancer compared to those who took just 5,000 daily steps. Furthermore, individuals who took 9,000 daily steps experienced a 16% lower risk compared to those in the 5,000-step group.