Older women can significantly reduce their risk of early death by walking just 4,000 steps a day, new research suggests.
Crucially, this benefit, which slashes the chance of premature mortality by more than a quarter, applies even if the steps are accumulated only once or twice a week.
The study highlights that the total volume of steps taken, rather than the number of days they are spread across, is the primary factor in lowering death rates and mitigating the risk of heart disease.
This finding challenges the widely accepted benchmark of 10,000 steps daily, with experts concluding there is “no ‘better’ or ‘best’ pattern” for achieving health benefits through walking.
They said moving is important and “individuals can undertake physical activity in any preferred pattern”.
The study found that, compared with women who were fairly sedentary, those who achieved 4,000 steps per day on one or two days a week had a 26 per cent lower risk of death from any cause and a 27 per cent lower risk of heart disease.
Achieving this on three days a week had more benefits, including a 40 per cent reduced risk of early death and a 27 per cent lower risk of heart disease.
Even more exercise than that (5,000 to 7,000 steps) led to more declines, but these were more modest.
Here, there was a 32 per cent lower risk of death but there was a levelling out in the risk of a cardiovascular disease death, at 16 per cent.
The researchers, including those from Harvard University in the US, said the study found that “the number of steps per day, rather than the frequency of days/week achieving a particular step threshold, is important” for cutting the risk of early death and heart disease in older women.
They added: “Physical activity guidelines in older women should consider recommending at least 4,000 steps per day on one to two days per week to lower mortality and cardiovascular disease risk.”
The study, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, included 13,547 women free from heart disease and cancer at the start of the trial, who were typically aged around 72.
The women wore devices for seven consecutive days to measure their step count and were tracked for nearly 11 years.
During this time, 1,765 women (13 per cent) died and 781 (5.1 per cent) developed heart disease.
The team concluded that a “greater number of steps, regardless of daily patterns, is associated with better health outcomes”.
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