7,000 Steps A Day To Lower Dementia Risk
New global research finds that walking 7,000 steps daily may be a more realistic — and still powerful — health goal than the unofficial 10,000-step target
Clocking in 7,000 steps a day could lower overall death risk by 47 per cent, dementia by 38 per cent, and depression by 22 per cent, a new study published in The Lancet Public Health has claimed.
The analysis of data from 88 studies published between 2014 and 2025, involving 1.6 lakh adults, is the first to comprehensively assess how steps taken daily can help keep numerous health conditions at bay — unlike previous research that mainly focused on heart health or overall death rates, researchers said.
The study team included researchers from the University of Sydney, among other institutes in Australia, the UK, Spain, and Norway.
Walking 7,000 steps daily was also associated with a six per cent lower chance of developing cancer, and was seen to reduce the chance of developing heart disease by 25 per cent, diabetes by 14 per cent, and of suffering a fall by 28 per cent, compared to taking 2,000 steps daily.
The authors highlighted that targeting 7,000 steps per day may be more realistic, compared to the current unofficial 10,000 steps per day — especially for the less active -- and can still provide significant improvements in health.
They, however, cautioned that evidence for conditions, such as cancer and dementia, was supported by a small number of studies, which meant a lower level of certainty for these results.