10,000 steps or brisk walk: Which is more important for robust health?

Health experts have generally recommended walking 10,000 steps a day to maintain health and fitness. However, new research suggests that your walking speed is just as important as the number of steps you take daily.

The study researchers from the University of Sydney, Australia, and the University of Southern Denmark have long found that walking 10,000 steps a day lowers the risk of dementia, heart disease, cancer, and death.

However, researchers have now found that a faster walking pace, like a power walk, shows benefits above and beyond the number of steps achieved.

Co-lead author Dr Matthew Ahmadi, a research fellow at the University of Sydney’s Charles Perkins Centre and Faculty of Medicine and Health is reported to have said, “The take-home message here is that for protective health benefits people could not only ideally aim for 10,000 steps a day but also aim to walk faster.”

Additionally, the study has found that less active individuals who take fewer steps can also reap health benefits as speed affects the impact of the walk on well-being.

Associate professor Borja del Pozo Cruz from the University of Southern Denmark, who is also a senior researcher in health at the University of Cadiz, is reported to have said, “For less active individuals, our study also demonstrates that as low as 3,800 steps a day can cut the risk of dementia by 25 per cent.”

The participants of the study reportedly wore a wrist accelerometer to measure physical activity over a period of seven days, a minimum of 3 days, and this included a weekend day and also monitoring during sleep periods.

However, researchers note that the study is observational, which means, “they cannot show direct cause and effect.”

The study which is published in the journals Jama Internal Medicine and Jama Neurology reportedly used data from the UK Biobank study to link step count data from 78,500 UK adults aged between 40 to 79 with health outcomes seven years on.

Here are some key points from the study:

*Every 2,000 steps walked lowered the risk of premature death incrementally by 8 to 11%, up to approximately 10,000 steps a day.

• Similar links were seen for cardiovascular disease and cancer incidence.
• A higher number of steps per day was associated with a lower risk of all-cause dementia.
• Walking 9,800 steps was the optimal daily amount linked to lowering the risk of dementia by 50%. However, the risk was also reduced by 25% with as low as 3,800 steps a day.
• Faster walking pace showed beneficial associations for all outcomes (dementia, heart disease, cancer, and death) over and above total daily steps.

Commenting about the latest study, senior author Emmanuel Stamatakis, professor of physical activity, lifestyle, and population health at the University of Sydney is quoted as saying, “Step count is easily understood and widely used by the public to track activity levels thanks to the growing popularity of fitness trackers and apps, but rarely do people think about the pace of their steps.”

According to Prof. Stamatakis, the present study confirms that for optimal health benefits, “the ‘sweet spot’ is at or very close to 10,000 steps.”

But though “the more daily steps the better” there is nevertheless good news for less active individuals and for those who cannot manage to get in 10,000 steps into their daily schedule, as “long term-benefits start from relatively low levels, e.g., around 4,000 steps a day,” the prof said.

On the other hand, prof. del Pozo Cruz is of the opinion that in general, it is walking that matters. It is “important to stress the idea that every step counts and that benefits of walking start with the very first step,” he states.

He adds, “We have provided tangible and practical recommendations that hopefully will give people and doctors tools to promote a healthier lifestyle. Walking is free! And our studies also demonstrate that can get you a long way,” he concludes.