The idea that walking 10,000 steps a day was the optimal amount for health is widely known but until now hasn't been proven.
Now a new study has confirmed this amount of walking is ideal for cardiovascular and brain health.
"Were the first study to confirm that that sweet spot area you want to get every day is around 10,000 steps," co-lead author Dr Matthew Abadi tells Karyn Hay.
Photo: Tobi / Pexels
In the largest study to date on the subject, 78,000 UK people aged between 40 to 79 years wore a tracker for a week between 2013 and 2015, and their steps were then compared with their health records.
The results revealed that taking 10,000 – or actually 9,800 – steps a day led to the greatest reduction in risk of dementia (50 percent) and of heart disease and cancer (30 to 40 percent)
This is due to improvements in both cardiovascular health and inflammation, Dr Abadi says.
When people can't get in 10,000 steps, they can improve their overall fitness by walking briskly, even for brief periods.
Dr Abadi tries to hit 10,000 steps every day himself, but when he can't tries to walk at an increased pace for few seconds here and there throughout the day.
The evidence revealed by these studies will go a long way towards informing the first ever step-based recommendations in the World Health Organisation's physical activity guidelines for 2030, Dr Abadi says.
Now his team have studied the effects of walking on the healthy population, they want to study how walking can benefit people with pre-existing heart disease or cancer.
They will also study how people unable to walk 10,000 steps per day can make small lifestyle changes to keep more active.
The studies, carried out by researchers from the University of Sydney, University of Southern Denmark and Harvard, were published in the journals JAMA Internal Medicine and JAMA Neurology
