23-07-2025
- Health
- National Geographic
Forget about 10,000 steps a day—science now has a more accurate number
Walking more is associated with reduced risk for dementia, diabetes, heart disease, and more—but a new study says you can get fewer than 10,000 steps a day and still see all those benefits. An explorer walks across sand dunes on Socotra, Yemen, 2018. Getting 10,000 steps in every day can be challenging, and a new study suggests 7,000 steps can reduce the risk of developing common but serious health conditions. Photograph by Martin Edstrom, Nat Geo Image Collection
If you've been told that walking 10,000 steps a day is mandatory for good health, you might be surprised to learn that scientists suspect the figure was created to market pedometers and wasn't based on actual data. The number of steps that stave off numerous chronic conditions is actually much lower, according to a paper published today in Lancet Public Health that reviewed the past decade's research on steps and health.
Walking just 7,000 steps a day lowers the risk of developing more than a half dozen medical conditions as well as premature death, according to the researchers. The scientists, from Australia, the United Kingdom, and Norway, analyzed dozens of studies involving 160,000 adults putting one foot in front of the other.
Compared to people walking 2,000 steps, the 7,000-step total was associated with a 38 percent lower risk of dementia, a 25 percent reduction in cardiovascular disease, and 28 percent fewer falls. Mortality dropped nearly half in the 7,000-step walkers. Risks for depression and type 2 diabetes also fell, although by less than for the other conditions.
It's long been known that physical activity, including moderate-intensity walking, benefits health. But this is the first time researchers were able to correlate step goals with the wide range of preventive health outcomes.
'Step counting devices are becoming so widely available that the general public wants to know what they should aim for,' says Melody Ding, a public health researcher at the University of Syndey in Australia and the study's lead author.
People can now feel confident with a target of 7,000, she says. How more research led to a more accurate estimate
This study 'is really exciting because it looks at how step volume makes a big difference in several major health outcomes,' says Michael Rocha, a cardiologist in Dartmouth, Massachusetts who leads walking excursions in his community as part of the nationwide Walk with a Doc health program.
'We now have more evidence to change what we are telling our patients. It doesn't have to be 10,000 a day to live longer and healthier,' he says.
As recently as 2020, scientists formulating physical activity guidelines for Americans as well as for a global audience did not have enough evidence to recommend a specific step target, the study authors note. That left 10,000 steps as the public's holy grail—even as many people fell short.
The large number of studies published in the past decade finally provided enough data to inform a broad step target. One study in 2023 that researchers included in their analysis, for example, found as few as 2,800 steps reduced the risk of cardiovascular disease, with the most benefits at 7,200.
The reviewers did find that 10,000 steps are associated with even lower risks for a few conditions, such as cancer mortality, dementia, and depressive symptoms. But the incremental improvement above the 7,000 was small.
For most other health metrics, including type 2 diabetes prevention, the extra 3,000 steps yielded no additional gains. Still, '10,000 steps may remain a viable target for people who are more active,' the study states.
(Walking is great for your health. Walking backward? Even better.) Don't wait--walk
The researchers reviewed results from 57 studies involving 35 groups of people. The studies involved participants from the United States, U.K., Japan, Australia, and several other countries. Some involved older adults or people who already had chronic conditions or increased risk factors, but many were conducted on healthy young adults.
The majority of studies assessed deaths from all causes as well as cardiovascular disease incidence and mortality—areas where walking has long been known to offer protection. Other conditions, including cancer, type two diabetes, cognitive outcomes, mental health, and falls, were examined by a range of four to six studies.
The researchers acknowledge that the small number of studies for certain conditions is a limiting factor of the review. 'Some outcomes have more data than others. As we start to accumulate more data and studies, these results may be updated in the future,' Ding says.
In addition, the researchers acknowledge that walking speed likely plays a role in the health outcomes they uncovered, but they were unable to precisely determine its effect or what an ideal pace might be.
Still, the confirmation that walking just 7,000 steps a day can help stave off chronic conditions, including dementia, is music to ears of many physicians.
'Aerobic exercise has consistently been shown to be one of the most robust ways to prevent and delay dementia,' says Stephanie Towns, a neuropsychologist at the Yale School of Medicine, who says mechanisms likely include increasing the flow of oxygen and nutrients to the brain as well as controlling major risk factors like hypertension. 'I personally recommend to all my patients that one of the best ways to reduce dementia risk is regularly engaging in brisk walks,' she says.
Or as Ding puts it, 'definitely don't wait' for more data to accrue. Lace up your walking shoes and get active now.
