Brisk Walking May Be More Health Efficient Than 10,000 Steps

A new study has confirmed what some researchers have been saying for years: 10,000 steps a day is probably not the sole magic metric it’s touted to be.

The paper, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, found that “premature [all-cause and cardiovascular] mortality might be prevented through different combinations of stepping intensity and step counts,” suggesting that variables like pace affect how efficient the workout is.

After looking at week-long fitness tracker data from 103,684 middle-aged participants, taken between 2013 and 2015, researchers then compared this sample to heart-related and all-cause deaths by 2022.

They found “that higher intensity at lower volume can provide health benefits comparable to that of lower intensity but higher volume”.

In other words, walking distance isn’t the only metric that matters when it comes to boosting your longevity.

After looking at the pace and distance the participants walked during the tracking week, the study authors placed them into different groups:

• 0–5000 steps a day,
• 5000–7500 steps a day,
• 7500–10,000 steps a day, and
• more than 10,00 steps a day.

They also grouped them by pace, measured in steps per minute.

It turns out that the speed at which participants walked really seemed to matter. For example, the reduction in risk of death was about the same among people who walked fewer than 5,000 steps a day at a brisk pace (at least 80 steps a minute) as it was for those walking 5000–7500 steps a day more slowly (60 steps a minute).

Among those walking less than 7,500 steps a day, meanwhile, keeping a speedy pace up for at least half an hour daily was linked to progressively lower risk of death.

This isn’t to say that distance doesn’t matter at all. 7,500-10,000 steps a day was still linked to the lowest mortality risk, regardless of pace.

But in terms of efficiency – ie, benefits per minute – brisk walking seemed to punch above its weight, especially among those who don’t often walk far.

“Fewer daily steps at a faster pace or more steps at a slower pace may both substantially lower the risk of an early death, with a brisker pace for at least 30 minutes a day the potential sweet spot for those with sedentary lifestyles out of choice or necessity,” reads the BMJ Group’s press release about the paper.

And the paper said: “For adults with a sedentary lifestyle (ie, [walking less than] 5000 steps/day), increasing stepping pace may substantially lower all-cause and cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality risk”.

We’ve known for a while that speedier walking seems to carry unique benefits. For instance, in one study, brisk walking was linked to a 20% reduction in premature death compared to just 4% for slower walkers.

And “super movers,” or the top 9% of 80-plus-year-old walkers, seem to have healthier brains and a lower risk of developing dementia.

So-called “Japanese walking,” which combines fast bursts of walking with slower breaks in an interval-style pattern, also seems to confer greater health benefits at shorter distances.

The NHS’s site points out that a brisk 10-minute walk is linked to a range of advantages. “You do not have to walk for hours,” the health service says.

“You can tell you’re walking briskly if you can still talk but cannot sing the words to a song.”