If you’ve ever researched how to live longer, you’ve probably come across the idea that 10,000 steps is the magic number you should aim for every day.
But a group of US researchers from the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston have discovered that you don’t necessarily need to be hitting that huge number to see positive results.
The academics ran a study with 17,000 older women (average age 72), who wore clip-on devices to track their steps as they went about their day-to-day activities.
Surprisingly, they found that women who took just 4,000 steps per day got a boost in longevity, compared with women who took fewer steps. In fact, those who reached 4,400 steps per day were about 40 per cent less likely on average to pass away during the follow-up period of about four years after the study.
Another big finding: the benefits of walking maxed out at about 7,500 steps – the women who walked more didn’t see an extra boost in longevity at all.
Now, of course, we’re not suggesting that you shouldn’t exercise at all. In fact, this study highlights the benefits that light daily activity can have on your health.
But if you’re not quite up to 10,000 steps every day, don’t stress!
