Research shows that walking up to 10,000 steps a day lowers the risk of heart disease and premature death, even if you spend the rest of the day sitting.
The study, published in the British Journal of Sports MedicineResearch has shown that every additional step above 2,200 steps per day – up to about 10,000 – reduces these risks, regardless of how much of the remaining time is spent sitting.
Experts found that the lowest risk of premature death was among people who walked 9,000 to 10,500 steps per day.
When it came to preventing stroke and heart attack, the lowest risks were in people who walked about 9,700 steps a day.
The study, led by academics from the University of Sydney, analyzed data from more than 70,000 people aged around 61 from the British biobank.
For the study, participants wore an accelerometer for seven days to measure their exertion levels. After seven years of follow-up, 1,633 deaths and 6,190 cardiovascular events, such as heart attack or stroke, were recorded.
The study concluded that between 9,000 and 10,500 steps per day reduces the risk of premature death by 39% and the risk of heart attack or stroke by more than a fifth.
Although the results also showed that any number of daily steps above 2,200 per day was associated with lower rates of death and heart disease, regardless of the time someone spent sitting, the benefits increased as people took more steps.
In both cases, half the benefit was achieved at 4,000 to 4,500 steps per day.
Julie Ward, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, said: “We know that daily physical activity is essential to maintain a healthy lifestyle and reduce the risk of developing heart disease and the risk of stroke.
“These hopeful new studies show us that every step toward achieving 10,000 steps per day helps reduce the risk of death and heart disease. Even low activity levels can reduce the risk of stroke.
“We encourage everyone to stay active for heart and circulatory health by getting 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week.
“This can be any activity that fits your lifestyle, such as taking regular walking breaks away from your computer screen, going to the gym, enjoying fitness classes, or even getting off the bus one stop early to get in more steps.”
