Ten thousand steps a day is an ambitious goal and in order to achieve it you need to put in a lot of legwork, especially if you aren’t someone who has to walk around a lot as part of their daily routine. Good news if you’re not someone who has been able to reach that goal easily — a new study published last month in the Lancet Public Health medical journal says just 7,000 steps a day might be enough to cause noticeable improvements in health and wellbeing.
The study, conducted by researchers from Australia, Spain and the UK, reviewed past papers for correlation between levels of exercise and risk factors of various ailments such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, type 2 diabetes, depressive symptoms and dementia.
Taking a baseline of 2,000 steps, which is something most adults manage even without taking extra time to exercise, the study compared the reduction in rates of disease incidence. The findings indicate that those who walk 7,000 steps are 47 per cent less likely to die of cardiovascular disease and 37pc less likely to die of cancer. The same group has a 25pc lesser chance of developing cardiovascular disease in the first place and a 14pc lower risk of diabetes.
Compared to this, those who completed their 10,000 steps were only marginally less likely to develop these diseases, the differences being in single digits. The study even found that the more active group was very slightly more prone to dying from cardiovascular disease.
On the mental health front, the study found those who exercise had a 38pc lower chance of exhibiting depressive symptoms and a 22pc less chance of developing dementia. They also found that the 7,000-step group had better balance and coordination, being 28pc less likely to suffer falls; this number went down for those walking over 10,000 steps a day.
Another 2019 study by Japanese and US researchers found a similar peak benefit point at 7,500 steps; the same paper said walking backwards was more beneficial for cognitive ability and coordination. A 2011 paper from the University of Nevada backed up the correlation between brain health and backward retro walking; it also said walking backwards strengthens hamstrings and reduces pain in the lower back.
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