The fitness community regularly touts the health benefits of getting in 10,000 steps per day. But a new study says that a good deal fewer steps can still deliver significant benefits, including a 47% reduction in dying prematurely.
Much like the advice on eating eggs, drinking coffee, and consuming vegetable oils, the general wisdom on how many steps you should take each day for maximum health benefits seems to be constantly in flux. While all health experts believe that more walking every day is better for you than less, it’s been a matter of some debate as to where the line of diminishing returns is regarding steps. In other words, how many daily steps deliver maximum health benefits before each additional step fails to add exponential improvements.
Researchers from the University of Sydney believe they’ve found the sweet spot: 7,000 steps per day.
Considered the largest and most comprehensive review of information on this topic by the team, the researchers looked at data from 57 studies carried out between 2014 to 2025 in over 10 different countries. For each study reviewed, the researchers made sure that steps were tracked using step-counting devices such as pedometers or accelerometers.
They began looking at the health outcomes of taking 2,000 steps per day and then moved up in 1,000-step increments. The researchers were looking for the effects daily walking has on multiple metrics including the development of health conditions like cancer, dementia, type 2 diabetes, and depression, as well as the chance of dying from certain diseases.
They found that, compared to walking 2,000 steps per day, taking 7,000 daily steps reduced the risk of all-cause health-related mortality by 47% – a number that was found to be nearly identical to taking 10,000 steps per day. They also found that the risk of developing dementia dropped by 38% with only an additional 7% reduction for walking 10,000 steps.
Furthermore, the analysis revealed a 25% lower risk of cardiovascular disease occurrence and a 47% reduction in associated deaths. While there was not a statistically significant reduction in cancer incidence, taking 7,000 versus 2,000 daily steps did show a 37% reduction in cancer mortality. There was also a 28% lower risk of falls, and a 22% lower incidence of depressive symptoms.
The team points out that any increase in daily step count was associated with some health improvements, dovetailing with another meta-analysis on step count carried out in 2023 that showed that even just 4,000 steps per day were enough to boost your health. But, the researchers say, 7,000 daily steps is significantly better, and not quite as hard to achieve as the much-touted 10,000 count.
“For people who are already active, 10,000 steps a day is great,” said Katherine Owen, co-author and chief analyst of the study from the University of Sydney’s School of Public Health. “But beyond 7,000 steps, the extra benefits for most of the health outcomes we looked at were modest.”
“Our research helps to shift the focus from perfection to progress,” added study co-author Melody Ding. “Even small increases in daily movement can lead to meaningful health improvements.”
The research has been published in The Lancet Public Health.
Source: University of Sydney
