Benefits include lower risk for death and cardiovascular disease, diabetes, dementia, and depression<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
By Lori Solomon HealthDay Reporter<\/b>
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TUESDAY, July 29, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Seven thousand steps per day is associated with clinically meaningful improvements in health outcomes, according to a study published online July 23 in The Lancet Public Health<\/em>.<\/p>\n Ding Ding, Ph.D., from the University of Sydney, and colleagues conducted a systematic literature review to evaluate the prospective, dose-response relationship between daily steps and health outcomes, including all-cause mortality.<\/p>\n Based on 57 studies (35 cohorts), the researchers found that for all-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease incidence, dementia, and falls, there was an inverse nonlinear dose-response association, with inflection points at around 5,000 to 7,000 steps per day. There was an inverse, linear association for cardiovascular disease mortality, cancer incidence, cancer mortality, type 2 diabetes incidence, and depressive symptoms. Based on 31 studies (24 cohorts) in the meta-analyses, compared with 2,000 steps per day, 7,000 steps per day were associated with a lower risk for all-cause mortality (hazard ratio [HR], 0.53; I<\/em>\u00b2 = 36.3 percent; 14 studies), cardiovascular disease incidence (HR, 0.75; I<\/em>\u00b2 = 38.3 percent; six studies), cardiovascular disease mortality (HR, 0.53; I<\/em>\u00b2 = 78.2 percent; three studies), cancer mortality (HR, 0.63; I<\/em>\u00b2 = 64.5 percent; three studies), type 2 diabetes (HR, 0.86; I<\/em>\u00b2 = 48.5 percent; four studies), dementia (HR, 0.62; I<\/em>\u00b2 = 0 percent; two studies), depressive symptoms (HR, 0.78; I<\/em>\u00b2 = 36.2 percent; three studies), and falls risk (HR, 0.72; I<\/em>\u00b2 = 47.5 percent; four studies). With the exception of cardiovascular disease mortality (low), cancer incidence (low), physical function (low), and falls (very low), the evidence certainty was moderate for all outcomes.<\/p>\n “Although 10,000 steps per day can still be a viable target for those who are more active, 7,000 steps per day is associated with clinically meaningful improvements in health outcomes and might be a more realistic and achievable target for some,” the authors write.<\/p>\n