When it comes to staying fit, we all assume that taking 10,000 steps every day is the way to go. But, a recent study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Network Open shows that people who take 7,000 steps a day have a 50 to 70 per cent lower risk of early death compared to those who take about 2,000 steps each day. The 2100 subjects studied for this research mainly consisted of middle-aged black and white men and women.
The key takeaway from the study was that focusing on daily movement can help you to meet your health goals better than a step count. Don’t remain sedentary all day. The study reported that after about 7,000 steps, the benefits of exercising seem to plateau. Interestingly, researchers also said that the number of steps you take in a minute or step intensity doesn’t affect your mortality risk. The easiest way to make sure you’re getting enough steps in a day is to try wearing a step-counting device. These are useful for monitoring and promoting activity and can push you to achieve your health goals.
However, experts recommend aiming for a ballpark figure of 10,000 steps a day because then when you’re actually walking, you will achieve 7,000 as an average and still maximise the benefits of the exercise–think reduced cardiovascular risk, cholesterol and weight as well as an improvement in blood pressure.