How many steps should you take per day? What’s the right amount for someone your age?
If you’re inactive, you can achieve significant health benefits simply by upping your daily step count.
Research has shown that many people in the United States would potentially increase their lifespan if they upped their daily step count.
According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the average American takes between 4,000 and 5,000 steps per day.
How many steps should adults under and over 60 take per day?
In a 2022 study published in the scientific journal The Lancet, a team of experts - led by UMass Amherst kinesiologist Amanda E. Paluch - found that adults under 60 enjoyed a “progressively lower” risk of death from all causes if they increased their daily step count to between 8,000 and 10,000.
Notably, the researchers found little difference between the health benefits of taking 8,000 daily steps and the oft-recommended 10,000. In both cases, there appeared to be a roughly 50% improvement on the mortality risk of people who averaged 4,000 steps per day.
For adults over 60, meanwhile, the Lancet study found that the reduction in mortality risk levelled off at about 6,000 to 8,000 steps per day. By raising their step count from around 3,000 to the 8,000-10,000 range, seniors could lower their risk of all-cause mortality by about half.
Published in the journal JAMA, a 2020 study by investigators from the NIH and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) examined the health benefits of walking among adults over 40.
During the decade-long investigation, this group of researchers also found that subjects who took 8,000 steps a day had about half as much risk of death from any cause than those who managed 4,000 steps a day.
Walking is medicine.
— Dr. Mark Rowe (@DrMarkRowe) January 23, 2023
Recent research - The Lancet : adults aged under 60 (8000 -10000) for 60 and over, 6,000-8,000 steps a day had the greatest impact in decreasing mortality,
Will you go for a walk today? Your life may depend on it.
Every. Step. Counts #mondaythoughts pic.twitter.com/9C6jgEOEjs
What health problems can you sidestep on your daily walk?
As explained by Healthline expert Adrienne Santos Longhurst, there are several notable conditions that you may be less likely to suffer from if you engage in regular physical activity such as walking.
They include: heart disease and stroke; high blood pressure; diabetes; obesity; depression; and some cancers.
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