Daily Walking Habit: Mere 7,000 steps maintained each day can contribute to overall health - Daily Walking Target for Wellness: 7000 Steps Offers Health Benefits
In a groundbreaking development, scientists recommend a revised walking target of 7000 steps a day for improved health and reduced risk of premature death. This new recommendation, based on extensive research, suggests that walking 7000 steps daily can significantly lower the risk of various chronic diseases, such as dementia, depression, diabetes, cancer, and falls.
The recommendation comes from an international team of researchers who analysed 57 studies involving over 160,000 participants across more than ten countries, including Australia, USA, UK, and Japan. The findings, published in The Lancet Public Health, indicate that walking 7000 steps a day provides similar health benefits to the traditionally recommended 10,000 steps but is a more realistic and achievable target for most people.
Andrew Scott, from the University of Portsmouth, advises against excessive focus on step counting, especially on days with limited activity. He suggests that "more movement is always better," but emphasises that the benefits tend to level off after reaching around 7000 steps.
Walking 7000 steps a day reduces the risk of premature death by almost half compared to those who walk 2000 steps a day. It also lowers the risk of cardiovascular disease, dementia, depressive symptoms, type 2 diabetes, and cancer. Walking this number of steps daily can help minimise the risk of cancer or falls.
Paddy Dempsey, one of the researchers involved in the study, advises those already walking 10,000 steps or more to continue, but encourages those finding 7000 steps challenging to add 1000 more steps, which is approximately 10 to 15 minutes of light walking throughout the day.
It is important to note that the World Health Organization (WHO) does not specify a recommended number of steps for daily physical activity. Instead, they recommend adults engage in at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity physical activity per week. Moderate-intensity activity includes walking or cycling, while vigorous-intensity activity includes jogging.
The recommendation of 10,000 steps a day for good health does not stem from a scientific study. The number was popularised by a Japanese company's marketing campaign in the 1960s. Nearly one-third of the world's population does not meet the WHO's physical activity recommendations.
In conclusion, the new recommendation of 7000 steps a day offers a realistic and achievable goal for improving health and reducing the risk of premature death and multiple chronic diseases. Any increase in physical activity, no matter how small, can have meaningful health benefits. So, let's get moving and aim for 7000 steps a day!
[1] Dempsey, P. et al. (2021). Association of Step Count and Sedentary Time With Health-Related Quality of Life and All-Cause Mortality in Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. The Lancet Public Health. [2] Dempsey, P. et al. (2022). The association of step count and sedentary time with mortality, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and dementia: a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies. The Lancet. [3] Dempsey, P. et al. (2023). The association of step count and sedentary time with all-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and dementia: a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies. British Journal of Sports Medicine.
- The European Parliament may consider supporting research projects focusing on the prevention and management of chronic diseases, such as dementia, depression, diabetes, cancer, and falls, given the promising health benefits associated with increased physical activity, like walking 7000 steps a day.
- The Council, Commission, and numerous member states of the European Union could collaborate to promote health and wellness initiatives, including encouraging the public to prioritize fitness and exercise, nutrition, and medical-condition awareness, in line with the new recommendation of walking 7000 steps a day for improved health and reduced risk of premature death.
- In response to the findings indicating that walking 7000 steps a day lowers the risk of chronic diseases and premature death, the European Parliament could work towards implementing policies that encourage office-based workers to take breaks for light physical activity, thereby increasing overall step counts and contributing to a healthier European workforce.
