Photo: 123rf
Do you monitor your steps? Watching to see if you reach the seemingly magical number of 10,000 per day?
New research suggests that the recommended number may actually be much lower.
Dr Melody Ding is a professor of public health at the University of Sydney and was lead author on a study published in the internationally renowned Lancet Public Health medical journal.
Named as one of Australia's top 20 under-40 researchers in 2020, Ding specialises in the study of epidemiology - the factors that influence the occurrence and prevalence of disease within a population, and the role of physical activity in the prevention of chronic illness.
She said their research looked at 31 prior studies, covering more than 10,000 people, and found the benefits of walking had diminishing returns, once you hit 7000 steps.
"What we found was that there was a clear dose-response relationship between step counts and a range of health outcomes, and what we often saw... is that the return on investment of increasing steps start to diminish around 7000 steps.
"The more steps we take, the better, but that ratio starts to change a little bit after around 7000."
At 7000 steps, compared to someone who does only about 2000 a day, there was a 25 percent reduction of risk for cardiovascular disease, plus drops in all-cause mortality and type 2 diabetes, cancer, cognitive-related outcomes like dementia, and depressive symptoms and falls.
"With dementia, we did find four studies and we observed a very large effects, which, comparing 7000 with 2000, we're looking at 38 percent risk reduction. I think it's really important for us to re-inforce the message that we need to keep on being active."
If you manage 10,000 a day, this is no reason to cut back, Ding said.
"I think it's really important for us to steer the conversation away from the magic number of 7000. If you do 6000 steps, it's not good and 8000 steps, it's not good - it's not like that.
"The most important finding for us is that there's really a clear dose-response relationship - the more steps you take, the better. Even at a minimum dose, like comparing 4000 steps with 2000 steps, for example, every step counts - 4000 steps was much better than 2000 steps.
"Ten thousand steps was still better than 7000 steps for some of the outcomes - it's just really small differences.
"For those who are doing 10,000 steps a day, I think it's important to say, you don't have to go back to 7000. It's just that, for the general population, many of us struggle to achieve 10,000 steps, then 7000 steps could be a little bit more achievable."
She said the 10,000 figure came from a stunningly effective marketing campaign in the 1960s for a Japanese pedometer.
If long walks are not your thing, there are plenty of other ways to get your 7000 steps in, Ding said.
"The way that count devices work, it's not like only when you're walking for sake of walking that it's counting. Basically, it's counting those movements that when you lift one leg, one foot and put it in front of the other foot.
"Steps can really be accumulated in many ways, you know? Whether it's running, walking, incidental work around the household, whether it's gardening or just household chores as well - it will all lead to step counts."
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
