According to a study walking 10,000 steps per day reduces risk of dementia, cancer, and mortality

Can we really walk our way to fitness?

One of the most efficient, inexpensive, and simple activities is walking. According to a recent study, 10,000 daily steps reduce the risk of dementia, cancer, heart attacks, and mortality.

Journals JAMA Internal Medicine and JAMA Neurology both published the article.

The study compared step counts from 78,500 UK adults between the ages of 40 and 79 using information from the UK Biobank. The final evaluation, however, only included people who were free of dementia, cancer, or cardiovascular disease.

The study was the largest to systematically track step counts in connection to health outcomes, monitoring 75,800 participants with wearable trackers.

‘The take-home message here is that people might not only ideally aim for 10,000 steps a day, but also aim to walk faster,’ said head researcher Dr. Matthew Ahmadi, according to ANI.

The study does provide a way for those who are less active to preserve their health, though. Research also demonstrates that doing as low as 3,800 steps per day can reduce the incidence of dementia by 25%, according to Borja del Pozo, associate researcher at Cruz.

Additionally, according to the study, walking 10,000 steps a day or 2,000 steps a day incrementally lowers your risk of dying young by 8 to 11%.