Going for a walk has had a rebrand: nowadays, it’s all about getting your steps in, under the watchful eye of your pedometer, Apple Watch or Fitbit. If you are an avid step-counter, then it’s very likely that you aim to hit the standard 10,000 steps each day, but according to a major study published last week in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology—which analyzed 227,000 people from around the world—as little as 5,000 is actually enough to enjoy health benefits.
The research was met with an array of headlines declaring that we “only need 5,000 steps a day to boost our health”, which—while technically true—I felt didn’t address the real findings of the study, which actually showed that the more walking you do, the better your health will be. The study states that the risk of dying from cardiovascular or other diseases decreases significantly with every 500 to 1,000 extra steps taken. An increase of 1,000 steps a day was associated with a 15 percent reduction in the risk of dying from disease.
With such clear-cut results, my feeling is that we should be encouraging people to take as many steps as possible, rather than settling for the bare minimum.
Where 10,000 steps began
Let’s take it back to how the 10,000 mark became a thing. “It was actually taken from a marketing campaign for a step counter during the Tokyo Olympics in 1964—the Japanese character for ‘10,000’ looks a little like a walking person—and although it was a fairly arbitrary figure, the science does show it wasn’t far off,” explains personal trainer Luke Worthington. While health benefits continue to rise the more steps you take—even past 20,000—the correlation sweet spot sits at around 7,000 steps, according to Worthington. It’s at that point that you get maximum benefits for the least input. That doesn’t, however, take into account the myriad other plus points that walking has to offer.
The health benefits of walking
“I’m a huge fan of walking for our health because it ticks so many boxes,” says nutritionist, naturopath, and founder of Artah, Rhian Stephenson. “It’s great for circulation, gut health, immunity, blood sugar control, and mood.”
Walking outside (as opposed to on a treadmill) also creates “optical flow,” which is “what happens when you walk towards objects, which come in and out of your field of vision,” explains Worthington. Optical flow has been shown to activate the parasympathetic nervous system (or rest and digest mode) and improve creative thought.
Conversely, focusing on a fixed object—like your screen—actually activates the sympathetic nervous system (or fight or flight mode), leading to stress. Pairing a walk with time outside, therefore, offers a double whammy of physical and mental health benefits, and is a great activity to incorporate into your work day to counteract the negative effects of sedentary life—as much for your creativity levels as much as your overall wellbeing.
So how many steps should we be taking?
When I read the headlines that emerged from this study, I felt it was a shame to halve the number of steps most people typically aim for in a day. While going for a walk is about much more than just the physical health benefits, 4.3 million people in the UK are currently suffering from diabetes thanks to poor diets and inactive lifestyles. Shouldn’t we be encouraging people to aim high?
“According to the study, 4,000 steps a day is the minimum we need to reduce our risk of all-cause mortality, but it’s not the number to aspire to for optimum health,” agrees Stephenson. “It’s important to provide accessible benchmarks to help people stay motivated around their health, but I think the headlines we’re seeing around this piece are overly focused on the bare minimum—it’s exciting that walking can help reduce risk of death, because it’s free and accessible to everyone, but I wouldn’t take this to say that just walking 4,000 steps a day alone will lead to great health.”
Both experts recommend aiming for more than 6,000 steps each day. “If you’re someone who exercises regularly, don’t get overly caught up in pushing your step count above 6,000 if it causes you stress or you don’t have time,” says Stephenson. “But if you do no physical activity, you’d want to aim for more.” Really, the moral of the tale is: the more steps, the merrier.
How to maximize your steps
How to make your steps go that little bit further? Stephenson has some hacks that are great if you’re time-poor: “Take a brisk, 10-minute walk (as a minimum) after a meal, which will help you add to your step count while also regulating your blood sugar levels,” she recommends. “You can also increase the intensity of your walking—or power walk—which studies show is also associated with a decrease in mortality.”
Another tip is to find ways to make your day less sedentary, which helps to relieve the pressure of getting a high step count in—using a standing desk, for example, has been shown to lower blood sugar, burn more calories than sitting and improve certain cardiometabolic parameters.
The verdict: walk whenever you can
The more steps we can aim to include in our day, the better, which is why I took issue with some of the headlines published in the wake of this new study. Walking is an easy, low-commitment, and enjoyable way to move. So whether it’s taking a stroll in your local park or forgoing a taxi and setting off on foot to your next appointment, do it as often as you can.