Scientists say that walking 10,000 steps is a myth. Here’s how much you really need

Older women may significantly reduce risk of early death walking only 4,000 steps a dayNew research shows.

Importantly, this benefit, which reduced the chance of premature death by more than a quarter, applied even when stages were collected only once or twice a week.

The study highlights that total amount of steps takenThe primary factor in reducing mortality is the number of days in which they occur, rather than the length of time they span and the risk of death. heart disease,

This discovery challenges widely accepted Benchmark of walking 10,000 steps per dayExperts conclude that there is “no ‘better’ or ‘best’ pattern” for achieving health benefits through walking.

He said movement is important and “individuals can perform physical activity in any preferred pattern”.

The study found that, compared with women who were fairly sedentary, those who walked 4,000 steps a day one or two days a week had a 26 percent lower risk of death from any cause and a 27 percent lower risk of heart disease.

Getting it three days a week led to greater benefits, including a 40 percent lower risk of early death and a 27 percent lower risk of heart disease.

Even more exercise (5,000 to 7,000 steps) resulted in greater declines, but these were more modest.

Here, the risk of death was 32 percent lower, but the risk of death from heart disease was 16 percent.

researchers, including those Harvard University In the US, studies found that “the number of steps per day rather than the frequency of days/week achieving a particular step threshold is important” for reducing the risk of early death and heart disease in older women.

They added: “Physical activity guidelines in older women should consider recommending walking at least 4,000 steps per day one to two days per week to reduce the risk of mortality and cardiovascular disease.”

The study, published in British Journal of Sports MedicineThe trial included 13,547 women free of heart disease and cancer, who were typically around 72 years old at the start of the trial.

The women wore the devices for seven consecutive days to measure their step counts and were tracked for about 11 years.

During this period, 1,765 women (13 percent) died and 781 (5.1 percent) developed heart disease.

The team concluded that “a greater number of steps, regardless of daily pattern, is associated with better health outcomes”.