Exact number of steps you need to walk every day to live longer - and it's not 10k
dailyrecord.co.ukScientists have uncovered how many steps we need to take each day to lower risk of early death and heart disease.When it comes to walking, getting 10,000 steps minimum is the widely followed recommendation, but a new study claims this figure has no scientific merit.
Led by the University of Granada (UGR) and University of Iowa, findings suggest strutting 8,000 steps every day - around 6.4km - is enough to help you live longer.Published this week in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, the research has identified the optimal number of steps at which most people obtain the greatest benefits.
Findings also show that walking pace makes a difference and no amount of steps is too much."Traditionally, many people thought that you had to reach about 10,000 steps a day to obtain health benefits - an idea that came out of Japan in the 1960s but had no basis in science," said the lead author of the study, Professor Francisco B.
Ortega of the UGR's Department of Physical Education and Sports."We've shown for the first time that the more steps you take, the better, and that there is no excessive number of steps that has been proven to be harmful to health," said Ortega, adding that reaching 7,000-9,000 steps a day is a sensible health goal for most people.The pace at which we walk has additional benefits and that it is better to walk fast than slow.
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