The study shows that older people who walk just 4,000 steps a day once a week still reduce their risk of premature death by a quarter.
Staying active is known to provide a wide range of health benefits. But many people in their 60s, 70s and older may find it difficult to maintain the number of steps they previously achieved for a variety of reasons. Until now, it was unclear how much work people need to do as they age to reap the benefits.
Research conducted by Harvard University provides some answers. A large prospective study examined not only the number of steps older adults took, but also how often they met their goals over the course of a week.
The researchers found that achieving 4,000 steps a day one or two days a week was associated with a significantly lower risk of death and a lower risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) compared with not achieving this level on any day. The results were published in the journal British Journal of Sports Medicine.
The study included 13,547 American women over 62 years of age, with an average age of 72 years. They wore the activity trackers for seven days in a row between 2011 and 2015 and were followed for more than a decade. No one had cardiovascular disease or cancer at the start of the study.
During the monitoring period until the end of 2024, 1,765 women died and 781 developed heart disease.
Walking at least 4,000 steps per day on one or two days of the week was associated with a 26% lower risk of death from all causes and a 27% lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease, compared with not reaching this threshold on any day of the week.
For those who reached this step, count on at least three days a week, the lower risk of death from any cause increased to 40%, but remained at 27% for the risk of death from cardiovascular disease.
The researchers said the important finding is that the number of steps, not the number of days they reach a certain step count, is most important in reducing the risk of premature death.
There is no “best” way to take steps, they added. The main thing is to just take steps. They concluded that “a greater number of steps, regardless of daily routine, is associated with better health outcomes.”
On average, women took 5,615 steps per day. This was an observational study and therefore no definitive conclusions about cause and effect could be drawn. The study also had several limitations, including that physical activity was only assessed for one week and only in women.
However, the researchers wrote: “The present study…suggests that the frequency of reaching daily step thresholds is not critical (even 1–2 days per week). [more than] 4,000 steps per day has been associated with lower mortality and cardiovascular disease), and this step volume is more important than the frequency of reaching daily step thresholds in older adults.”
They added: “An important translational implication of these results is that because step volume is an important driver of inverse associations, there is no “best” or “best” pattern for step performance; people can do [physical activity] use any preferred regimen (eg, slow and steady or group regimen) to reduce mortality and cardiovascular disease risk, at least among older women.”
They concluded: “These results provide additional evidence for considering the inclusion of step metrics in the next [physical activity] recommendations, and that “grouping” steps is a viable health option.”
