How Many Steps Should YOu Walk?

The following article was inspired by Walking health benefits: How many steps should you walk each day to see visible results?

a few years ago the experts said 10,000 steps/day is what we need to have the best outcome, but now they say 7,000 steps/day!

**Before you start walking 7,000 steps a day**
Please check with your primary care physician. You may have chronic diseases and be unable to walk 7,000 steps a day. I am not currently a licensed physician in any state!!!! So check with your doctor and ask him/her about taking 7,000 steps/day.

Whether it’s a morning stroll or an evening brisk walk, Walking is one of the simplest and most effective forms of exercise and can do wonders for your health.

Benefits of walking

Walking is the best and simplest way to add movement to your routine. You don’t need fancy equipment or a gym membership. All you have to do is set aside some time. Here’s how walking benefits your health.
1 Burns calories
2 improves heart health and reduces the risk factors, including blood pressure
3 Lowers blood sugar
4 Makes the brain healthy
5 Eases joint pains
6 Improves mood
7 Adds more years to your life
8 Makes you more creative
9 Boosts energy
10 Strengthens your immune system

How many steps in a day?

You have probably heard the popular advice to walk 10,000 steps a day. But is that really true?
A recent study led by the University of Sydney researchers examined whether walking 10,000 steps a day was really necessary to get the best health benefits.

The study published in The Lancet Public Health found that 10,000 steps MAY NOT be the gold standard of health as we believed.
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**The researchers found that walking 7000 steps may be enough to achieve most of the benefits.**

The major study found that walking 7,000 steps a day lowered the risk of an early death by up to 47%. 7,000 steps offered similar health outcomes as walking 10,000. In fact, that additional 3,000 steps could be leaving you more exhausted.

The study

To examine how daily step targets impacted one’s health, the researchers analyzed data from 57 studies (from 2014 to 2025), conducted in more than ten countries, including Australia, the USA, the UK, and Japan.

They looked at the impact of different daily step counts on the chance of dying from cardiovascular disease and cancer, and developing diseases such as cancer, type 2 diabetes, dementia, and depression. This is the largest and most comprehensive review to date.  
They found that health benefits increased with every 1000-step increment up until 7000 steps, at which point the benefits began to taper off.

What experts are saying

Professor Melody Ding from the School of Public Health, who led the study, stated that 7,000 steps is a more achievable benchmark for people who struggle to meet traditional exercise guidelines. It also provides similar outcomes to those of 10,000 steps.

“Aiming for 7000 steps is a realistic goal based on our findings, which assessed health outcomes in a range of areas that hadn’t been looked at before.”

For those who cannot yet achieve 7000 steps a day, even small increases in step counts, such as increasing from 2000 to 4000 steps a day, are associated with significant health gains.

According to Professor Ding, we know daily step count is linked to living longer, but we now also have evidence that walking at least 7000 steps a day can significantly improve eight major health outcomes – including reducing risk of cardiovascular disease, dementia, and depressive symptoms.

How to complete your steps if you work 9-5

Reaching your step goal while working a 9-to-5 job is possible with some planning.
• Start your day with a brisk 10–15 minute walk before heading to work.
• Use your commute to get extra steps by walking part of the way or parking farther from the office.
• Take short walking breaks every hour and use your lunch break for a quick stroll outside.
• Whenever possible, opt for stairs instead of the elevator.
• After work, continue moving by going for a walk, jogging, or doing household chores to gradually hit your step goal.

Small, consistent efforts throughout the day can easily add up to 7,000 or even 10,000 steps.

How about you?
What are some of your favorite ways to get your steps in each day?
➡️Leave a comment and let us know.