Walking just 4,000 daily steps once a week cuts risk of early death in older people, study suggests | Health
Elderly people who take just 4,000 daily steps once a week nevertheless reduce their risk of dying prematurely by a quarter, according to a study.
Staying active is known to provide many health benefits. But many people in their 60s, 70s and beyond may struggle, for a variety of reasons, to maintain the step counts they previously achieved. Until now, it was unclear what exactly people should do as they age to reap the rewards.
Research conducted by Harvard University provides some answers. The large prospective study looked not only at the number of steps older adults took, but also at how often they met their step goals during the week.
Researchers found that taking 4,000 steps per day one or two days per week was associated with a significantly lower risk of death and cardiovascular disease (CVD), compared to not reaching that level on any day. The results were published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.
The study followed 13,547 American women over the age of 62, with an average age of 72. They wore activity trackers for seven consecutive days between 2011 and 2015 and were followed for more than a decade. None had heart disease or cancer at the start of the study.
During the follow-up period until the end of 2024, 1,765 women died and 781 developed heart disease.
Taking at least 4,000 steps per day on one or two days of the week was associated with a 26% lower risk of death from all causes and a 27% lower risk of dying from heart disease, compared to not reaching this threshold on any day of the week.
For those who reached this milestone and clocked at least three days a week, the lower risk of death from any cause increased to 40%, but remained at 27% for the risk of cardiovascular death.
The researchers said the important takeaway was that it is the amount people walk, rather than the number of days they complete a certain number of steps, that is most important in reducing the risk of premature death.
There is no “best” way to do this, they added. The main thing is just to take your steps. They concluded that “a greater number of steps, regardless of daily habits, is associated with better health outcomes.”
On average, women took 5,615 steps per day. This was an observational study and as such no definitive conclusions could be drawn about cause and effect. The research also had several limitations, including that physical activity was only assessed for one week and only in women.
Nonetheless, the researchers wrote: “The present study…suggests that the frequency of meeting daily step thresholds is not critical (even 1-2 days per week). [more than] 4,000 steps per day were linked to lower mortality and cardiovascular disease), and this step volume is greater than the frequency at which daily step thresholds are reached in the older population.
They added: “An important translational implication of these results is that, since step volume is the important driver of inverse associations, there is no “best” or “best” model for taking measurements; individuals can undertake [physical activity] according to any preferred regimen (e.g. “slow and steady” or “bunched regimens”) to reduce mortality and the risk of cardiovascular disease, at least in older women.
They concluded: “These results provide additional evidence to consider including milestone measures in the next [physical activity] guidelines, and that “bundling” of steps is a viable option for health.
