Forget the pressure of 10,000 steps. Groundbreaking research reveals that 7,000 daily steps offer clinically meaningful improvements across a wide range of health outcomes, making wellness more achievable for everyone.
BY PC Bureau
NEW DELHI, July 24, 2025 –In the largest and most comprehensive review of its kind, The Lancet Public Health today published a systematic meta-analysis linking daily step counts to a wide spectrum of health outcomes—from mortality and heart disease to diabetes, dementia, depression, and even the risk of falls. The key takeaway: 7,000 steps a day deliver significant health gains, challenging the long-dominant—and scientifically unsupported—10,000-step benchmark.
For decades, the aspiration of 10,000 daily steps has served as a global benchmark for physical activity. However, much of the foundational research supporting this target primarily focused on a limited number of outcomes, such as all-cause mortality. This new, expansive study dramatically broadens the scope, meticulously analyzing data on key health outcomes including cardiovascular disease, various forms of cancer, type 2 diabetes, cognitive function, mental well-being, physical mobility, and the risk of falls.
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“Despite the rapid increase in evidence from the past decade on daily steps and health-related outcomes, existing systematic reviews primarily focused on few outcomes, such as all-cause mortality,” the study’s lead authors explained. “This study synthesized the prospective dose-response relationship between daily steps and a comprehensive array of health outcomes, providing a more complete picture for public health guidance.”
The researchers looked at data from 57 different studies around the world. Their goal was to understand how the number of steps people take each day affects their health. They found two main patterns:
- For some conditions—like overall risk of death, heart disease, dementia, and falls—the benefits of walking increase up to a point and then level off. The biggest health boost came from walking about 5,000 to 7,000 steps per day. Beyond that, more steps still help, but the added benefits become smaller.
- For other conditions—such as cancer, diabetes, and depression—the more you walk, the better. Here, every extra step counts, with no clear limit to the benefit.
The Clinically Significant Impact of 7,000 Steps
When benchmarked against a baseline of 2,000 steps per day—often considered representative of a very low activity level, particularly for older adults—the attainment of 7,000 steps per day demonstrated a striking array of risk reductions across multiple health domains:
- A remarkable 47% lower risk of all-cause mortality.
- A 25% lower risk of cardiovascular disease incidence.
- A significant 47% lower risk of cardiovascular disease mortality.
- A 37% lower risk of cancer mortality.
- A 14% lower risk of type 2 diabetes.
- A substantial 38% lower risk of dementia.
- A 22% lower risk of depressive symptoms.
- A 28% lower risk of falls.
While the study noted a non-significant 6% lower risk for cancer incidence, the overwhelming evidence across nearly all examined outcomes points to profound and clinically relevant health gains associated with increasing daily steps, particularly when reaching the 7,000-step mark. Supporting these quantitative findings, studies on physical function, though not integrated into the meta-analysis, reported similar inverse associations, reinforcing the broad benefits of increased ambulation.
What’s the optimal number of steps of physical activity that is associated with multiple (9) favorable outcomes?
The largest, systematic review of 57 studies, 35 cohorts.
7,000 steps is clinically meaningful; some benefit also seen for 4,000 steps cf 2,000 steps @TheLancet… pic.twitter.com/Ql0PTQInIv— Eric Topol (@EricTopol) July 23, 2025
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This landmark study carries profound implications for global public health guidelines and policy. “Daily steps should unequivocally be considered a practical and easily understandable metric for physical activity guidelines and recommendations,” the authors asserted. “The observed prospective dose-response relationship can directly inform evidence-based, step-specific targets that resonate with the general public.”
While acknowledging the continued validity of 10,000 steps per day as an aspirational target for highly active individuals, the study’s emphasis on the significant benefits derived from 7,000 steps per day offers a more accessible and achievable goal for a much wider segment of the population. This realistic target has the potential to substantially boost adherence to physical activity recommendations, thereby fostering widespread improvements in population health and reducing the global burden of non-communicable diseases.
The research was made possible through generous funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council, New South Wales Health, and the Ian Potter Foundation. Looking ahead, the researchers advocate for future studies to incorporate age-specific analyses and address potential biases at the individual study level, which will further refine and strengthen our understanding of the optimal step counts for diverse populations. This research serves as a critical step in translating complex scientific evidence into actionable, impactful recommendations for a healthier global community.