Most people treat 10,000 steps a day as common practice for optimum health benefits—but a new study is challenging that.
Research analyzing data from over 160,000 adults has provided comprehensive insights into the optimal number of daily steps needed to improve health outcomes—and it's lower than you thought.
The study, published in the journal The Lancet Public Health, is the first to broadly investigate how increased daily steps can reduce the risk of multiple serious health conditions, moving beyond just heart health or overall mortality.
The 7,000-Step Sweet Spot
According to the researchers, walking approximately 7,000 steps per day is linked to substantial reductions in the risk of several major health concerns.
This includes a 47 percent reduction in all-cause mortality, a 25 percent reduction in cardiovascular disease, a 6 percent reduction in cancer, a 14 percent reduction in type 2 diabetes, a 38 percent reduction in dementia, a 22 percent reduction in depression and a 28 percent reduction in falls.
The study also highlighted that even "modest" step counts (around 4,000 per day) are associated with better health outcomes than to lower activity levels of around 2,000 steps per day—including, the team note, "a 36 percent lower risk in all-cause mortality."
'More Realistic and Achievable'
The researchers suggest that 7,000 steps per day might be a more reasonable goal for many, especially those who are less active, compared to 10,000.
Although, they write, "10,000 steps per day... was associated with substantially lower risks for all-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease incidence, cancer mortality, dementia, and depressive symptoms than 7,000 steps per day...there was no statistical difference between 7000 steps per day and a higher step count for all the other outcomes."
Therefore, the researchers conclude, the new target might be "a more realistic and achievable recommendation for some, but 10,000 steps per day can still be a viable target for those who are more active."
Comprehensive Evidence, With Caveats
The systematic review incorporated 57 studies, offering what the team have said is "the most comprehensive evidence to date of the association between the number of daily steps and a wide range of health outcomes."
However, the researchers also caution that their analysis has a number of limitations. For many conditions, such as cancer and dementia, the evidence for health benefits is supported by a "small number of studies," leading to a lower level of certainty for those results.
Furthermore, many included studies did not account for some factors, like age or frailty, which could potentially alter the findings.
Despite these limitations, however, the authors emphasized the utility of daily step counts as a straightforward way to gauge physical activity.
They believe these results could help inform public health recommendations in the future, encouraging more people to track their steps and maintain their health and wellbeing.
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Reference
Ding, D., Nguyen, B., Nau, T., Luo, M., del Pozo Cruz, B., Dempsey, P. C., Munn, Z., Jefferis, B. J., Sherrington, C., Calleja, E. A., Chong, K. H., Davis, R., Francois, M. E., Tiedemann, A., Biddle, S. J. H., Okely, A., Bauman, A., Ekelund, U., Clare, P., & Owen, K. (2025). Daily steps and health outcomes in adults: A systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis. The Lancet Public Health. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2468-2667(25)00164-1
