The exact number of steps you need to walk each day to live longer
If you've ever felt achieving 10,000 steps a day every single day of the week seems like a bit of a tall order, then results of a new study will likely leave you feeling a little more optimistic.
While a lot of research has proven the health benefits of walking 10,000 steps a day, a new study published in JAMA Network Open has shown just 8,000 steps a few times a week can reduce your risk of dying from heart disease.
Heart disease is an umbrella term for range of conditions that affect your heart, including blood vessel diseases, such as coronary artery disease; heart rhythm problems (arrhythmias); and heart defects you're born with (congenital heart defects), among others.
It remains the leading single cause of death in Australia, accounting for 16,600 deaths in 2020.
A lot of research has proven the health benefits of walking 10,000 steps a day. Getty Images/iStockphoto
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The study by Kyoto University found that over a decade of follow-up, people that were 20 years or older who took 8,000 or more steps on one or two days a week were 14.9 per cent less likely to die compared to people who were sedentary.
Even getting out just one or two days helped reduce the risk significantly.
The study was led by Dr. Kosuke Inoue of Kyoto University in Japan, collaborating with researchers from UCLA in California.
"We started this study to answer the question one of my patients asked during an outpatient clinic: 'It is hard for me to keep sufficient steps every day. Is it okay to focus on walking only during the weekend?'" Dr Inoue said.
New study shows 8,000 steps a few times a week can reduce your risk of dying from heart disease. iStock
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"Given that a lack of time is one of the major barriers to exercise in modern society, our findings provide useful information to recommend walking even for a couple of days per week to reduce mortality risk."
The risk of death dropped as the number of days involved increased. For example, exercising from three to seven days a week was associated with a 16.5 per cent reduction in all-cause and cardiovascular deaths.
The same pattern held true for people meeting step goals of anywhere between 6,000 to 10,000 steps.
