For many years, the goal of walking 10,000 steps a day has become the gold standard for physical health. However, a recent large-scale study from the University of Sydney shows that just walking 7,000 steps a day can bring significant health benefits, and that can help millions of people access a healthier lifestyle.
The study, published in The Lancet Public Health, analyzed data from more than 160,000 adults in 57 studies conducted from 2014 to early 2025. The results show that walking 7,000 steps a day can:
47% reduction in the risk of death from all causes
Reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease by 25%
37% reduction in cancer risk
14 percent reduction in the risk of type 2 diabetes
Reduces 38% of the risk of memory loss
Reduce 22% of depressive symptoms
28 percent reduction in the risk of falls in the elderly
We would like to emphasize that it is not necessary to take 10,000 steps a day to be considered a healthy activity, says Dr Ding Ding, a senior author of the study and an epidemiologist at the University of Sydney. Every step is valuable, and 7,000 steps is a reasonable goal, easy to access for the majority of people".
Notably, health benefits began to appear from only 4,000 steps/day, with a mortality rate of up to 36% decreasing compared to the group of people walking less than 2,000 steps. The study also shows that older adults reap more benefits from increasing their daily steps, while younger adults achieve a stable health effect of about 5,400 steps.
The World Health Organization (WHO) currently recommends that adults should be physically active at a moderate level of at least 150 minutes per week, but has not given specific instructions on how many steps to take. Therefore, the discovery from this research can become the foundation for building a simple, easy-to-implement standard in the community.
Dr Sushila Kataria, an internist at Medanta Hospital (India), shared: "If you can't spend time exercising every day, take advantage of small opportunities to increase the number of steps, such as taking a walk, walking during lunch break, taking your pet for a walk or parking a little away from the destination. Those seemingly small things can have a big impact on your health."
While the 10,000-step goal is not ineffective, especially for those who are alreadyprone to exercise, the new study helps reduce the pressure for those who are starting their health care journey. As the research team said: "walking is a simple but extremely powerful behavior to improve public health".
No need to take 10,000 steps to stay healthy. With 7,000 steps a day, about 1 hour of gentle walking, you can invest in cardiovascular health, spirit and longevity effectively and sustainably.
