If you’re over age 60, for example, you can cut a 10,000-step goal by about half and stay healthy. “There is no single magic number,” says Amanda Paluch, a physical activity researcher and assistant professor of kinesiology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
In a large research review in this question, published in 2022 in the journal Lancet Public Health, scientists discovered that the risk of premature death decreases as your daily step count increases. For example, people who walked about 5,800 steps a day, had a 40 percent lower risk of premature death compared to those who took the fewest steps — about 3,600 a day.
Getting your steps — even less than 10,000 — can have other benefits, too. In another 2022 study, taking fewer than 4,000 daily steps was associated with a lower risk of dementia. And according to a study of 70 years old published in the journal BMC Public Health, those who logged 4,500 daily steps or more had a 59 percent lower risk of diabetes than those who were less active. That risk drop hit 8,000 steps.
The risk of developing heart disease and cancer seems to follow a similar pattern, with uncertain benefits beyond 10,000 steps. A high step count may also be linked to a lower risk for sleep apnea, reflux, depression and obesity, according to a 2022 studies in Nature Medicine.
“Probably every decade, you may need fewer steps per day to create a physiological response that can lead to health benefits,” Paluch said.
Case in point: In Lancet study, younger adults did not derive a significant mortality benefit beyond 8,000 to 10,000 steps. But for those over age 60, the point of diminishing returns comes at 6,000 to 8,000 steps. This may be because a certain amount of exercise, such as walking half a mile, may be more strenuous for an average 70-year-old compared to an average 40-year-old.
There is no minimum number of steps you need to take to boost your health. “It’s not an all-or-nothing situation,” Paluch said. “Each increase of 1,000 to 2,000 steps can lead to health benefits, especially for those starting at lower activity levels.”
To figure out your step goal, start by counting how many steps you get in a typical week, says David R. Bassett, a physical activity researcher and professor emeritus at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. (Use a simple pedometer or your phone.) Then increase your daily average by 500 to 1,000. Once you reach that new number regularly for a week, add another 500 to 1,000 steps.
Continue to increase your daily steps until you’re in the 6,000 to 8,000 step range if you’re 60 or older, or 8,000 to 10,000 if you’re younger.
If you’re at the top of your range, keep it up. If you think you can do more, do it. But don’t worry if you don’t reach a certain target.
“Do what you feel you can do,” Bassett said. As long as you are moving, you are reaping some benefits.
Copyright 2022, Consumer Reports Inc.
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