Staying Healthy
More than 2,200 steps a day might help you live longer
Research we're watching
- Reviewed by Toni Golen, MD, Editor in Chief, Harvard Women's Health Watch; Editorial Advisory Board Member, Harvard Health Publishing; Contributor
While the best health outcomes are linked to taking about 10,000 steps per day, even as few as 2,200 daily steps is associated with lower odds of developing heart disease or dying early, a new study suggests.
The analysis, published in the March 2024 issue of the British Journal of Sports Medicine, evaluated data from more than 70,000 adults whose age ranged from 53 to 69, collected by the UK Biobank. Participants wore an accelerometer to track their exercise levels for seven days. Over the following seven years, 1,633 participants died and 6,190 serious cardiovascular problems — including heart attack or stroke — were recorded.
Researchers learned that taking between 9,000 and 10,500 steps each day lowered the risk of early death by 39% and the risk of heart attack or stroke by 21%. But any number of daily steps above 2,200 lowered the odds of early death and heart disease regardless of how long people spent being inactive each day. Health outcomes continued to improve with the more daily steps participants took.
Image: © Elena Medoks /Getty Images
About the Author
Maureen Salamon, Executive Editor, Harvard Women's Health Watch
About the Reviewer
Toni Golen, MD, Editor in Chief, Harvard Women's Health Watch; Editorial Advisory Board Member, Harvard Health Publishing; Contributor
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