7,000 steps a day may be enough

Walking 7,000 steps a day can offer the same health benefits as walking 10,000 steps a day, according to a comprehensive review and meta-analysis. Experts said it could be a more realistic target than the 10,000 steps, which is traditionally seen as the benchmark to reach.

This is good news for the sole, according to Dr Katherine Owen from the University of Sydney, Australia, who led the review. “The health benefits continued to accrue until around 7,000 steps. After 7,000 steps, the benefits either plateaued or there were minimal benefits.”

Owen and colleagues reviewed 57 studies involving over 160,000 adults and conducted a meta-analysis on 31 of them, examining the dose-response relationship between health outcomes and physical activity based on daily steps. [Lancet Public Health 2025;10:e668-e681]

 Nine health outcomes, such as all-cause mortality, the incidence of and deaths from cardiovascular disease, dementia, cancer incidence and mortality, the incidence of type 2 diabetes, depressive symptoms, and falls, were examined.

 Every outcome showed improvement as daily activity levels increased, but for most people, the benefits tapered off at around 5,000-7,000 steps each day.

 Multiple health benefits

Compared with walking just 2,000 steps a day, walking around 7,000 steps daily reduced the risk of all-cause mortality by 47 percent (hazard ratio [HR], 0.53, [95 percent confidence interval [CI], 0.46–0.60]; I2=36.3; 14 studies) and decreased the risk of cardiovascular disease by 25 percent (HR, 0.75 [0.67–0.85]; I2=38.3 percent; six studies).

It also reduced the incidence of cancer by 6 percent (HR, 0.94 [0.87–1.01]; I2=73.7 percent; two studies), type 2 diabetes by 14 percent (HR, 0.86 [0.74–0.99]; I2=48.5 percent; four studies), dementia by 38 percent (HR, 0.62 [0.53–0.73]; I2=0 percent; two studies), depression by 22 percent (HR, 0.78 [0.73–0.83]; I2=36.2 percent; three studies), and falls by 28 percent (HR, 0.72 [0.65–0.81]; I2=47.5 percent; four studies).

Additionally, walking 7,000 steps reduced the risk of cardiovascular disease mortality by 47 (HR, 0.53 [0.37–0.77]; I2=78.2 percent; three studies) and cancer mortality by 37 percent (HR, 0.63 [0.55–0.72]; I2=64.5 percent; three studies).

Although step count does not measure the quality or intensity of exercise, the findings highlight the importance of staying active. There is a “return on investment” with each additional 1,000 steps taken, and even 4,000 steps per day reduced the risk of disease compared with very low activity levels of 2,000 steps, said Owen.

“All physical activity is beneficial, but increasing daily steps to around 7,000 is optimal for improving all health outcomes,” she added.

Many people who use fitness trackers consider 10,000 steps as a sign they are getting enough movement in a day, but that number is not supported by solid evidence, said Dr Sean Heffron, assistant professor of medicine at New York University Langone Health and NYU Center for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease, New York, US, who was not involved in the current study.

How it all started

According to a 2019 study, the idea of aiming for 10,000 steps probably originated as part of a marketing campaign for an early pedometer made in Japan, called Manpo-kei, or “10,000 steps meter” in Japanese. [JAMA Intern Med 2019;179;(8):1105-1112]

Dr Daniel Bailey from Brunel University London, UK said the current finding challenges the myth that 10,000 steps a day should be the goal for optimal health.

“The real-world implications are that people can gain health benefits even from small increases in physical activity, such as walking an extra 1,000 steps per day. To achieve the greatest reductions in risk, aiming for 5,000–7,000 steps daily can be recommended, which is more realistic for many people than the unofficial target of 10,000 steps that has been around for many years,” he asserted.

Meanwhile, research continues to provide insights into what motivates people to get moving.

What the guidelines recommend

Current guidelines for physical activity, such as those from the US Department of Health and Human Services, focus on time spent on an activity rather than the number of steps, recommending 150 mins a week of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. [https://odphp.health.gov/sites/default/files/2019-09/Physical_Activity_Guidelines_2nd_edition.pdf

The UK National Health Service recommends taking a short 10-min walk each day, which counts towards the 150 mins of exercise advised each week. [https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/walking-for-health/]

Dr I-Min Lee, MD, an epidemiologist at Harvard Medical School, Boston, US and author of the first study to show that the health benefits of daily exercise level off after 7,500 steps, said future guidelines should include step targets.

“I don’t believe they should replace time targets, since not everybody wants to track their steps,” she said. “But the step target should be included.”

Not for everyone

For active individuals already reaching 10,000 steps daily, there is no need to change their step counts, according to lead study author Dr Melody Ding, a professor of public health at the University of Sydney, Australia. “However, for those of us who are far from reaching the 10,000 targets, getting to 7,000 steps per day offers almost as many health benefits for the outcomes we examined.”

For older adults and individuals with chronic conditions such as heart disease and arthritis, high-step targets are not recommended. Swimming or cycling may be suitable alternatives.