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New research finds a link between walking faster and a lower risk of early death in people who log fewer than 5,000 steps a day.People who racked up more steps but moved at a slower pace also saw their risk of early death drop.The findings offer practical advice for people, regardless of their activity level. <\/p>\n
Adding a regular walk<\/a> to your day can be a great way to lower your risk<\/a> of developing a slew of serious health conditions. But hitting your daily step goal isn\u2019t exactly easy, thanks to work, busy schedules, and life in general.<\/p>\n So what if there were a way to reap all those health benefits of extra steps by\u2026walking less? New research suggests this may be the case: Simply walking faster can help keep you healthy, even when you can\u2019t get in as many steps as you\u2019d like.<\/p>\n The study, which was published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine<\/a>, analyzed data from 64,743 people who wore activity trackers on their wrists for seven consecutive days. The researchers specifically focused on their daily step count, along with their peak 30-minute cadence, or the average number of steps per minute taken during the 30 highest minutes of walking in a day.<\/p>\n From there, they divided the participants into four groups: Those who walked fewer than 5,000 steps a day, those who logged 5,000 to 7,500 steps, those who walked 7,500 to 10,000 steps, and people who did more than 10,000 daily steps.<\/p>\n The researchers found that people who took fewer than 5,000 steps a day but hit a peak cadence of at least 80 steps per minute had a 28% lower risk of death during the eight-year follow-up compared to their slower counterparts. That put them on par with people who logged 5,000 to 7,500 steps a day but walked at a slower speed of about 60 steps per minute\u2014showing that there could be a longevity benefit to both more intense walking at a lesser volume as well as less intense walking but at a higher volume.<\/p>\n The group that fared the best was those who walked 7,500 to 10,000 steps a day at any speed. (The lowest risk was in people who walked about 100 steps per minute.)<\/p>\n \u201cPremature all-cause mortality and cardiovascular disease mortality might be prevented through different combinations of stepping intensity and step counts,\u201d the researchers wrote in the study\u2019s conclusion.<\/p>\n Meet the experts: Nikhil Satchidanand, Ph.D<\/a>., an assistant professor of exercise physiology at University at Buffalo, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences; Kevin Shah, M.D<\/a>., cardiologist and program director of Heart Failure Outreach at MemorialCare Heart & Vascular Institute at Long Beach Medical Center in Long Beach, CA; Navjot Sobti, M.D<\/a>., interventional cardiologist and women\u2019s health expert, Northwell\u2019s Northern Westchester Hospital and the Katz Institute for Women\u2019s Health.<\/p>\n The findings provide a pretty clear framework of how much and how fast to walk to lower your risk of premature death, no matter your available time. But doctors say they don\u2019t suggest that everyone needs to start speed-walking<\/a> to stave off an early death. Here\u2019s why.<\/p>\n Why can walking at a faster pace lower the risk of early death?<\/p>\n It\u2019s important to point out that the study just found a link between fewer steps at a faster pace and a lower risk of early death\u2014it didn\u2019t prove that the walking pace was responsible for the drop in risk. Still, doctors say there\u2019s something to this.<\/p>\n \u201cAs we pick up the pace, our muscles need more oxygen, the heart must pump more blood, and the cardiovascular and respiratory systems work harder to meet that demand,\u201d says Nikhil Satchidanand, Ph.D<\/a>., an assistant professor of exercise physiology at University at Buffalo, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. When you do this over time, it can improve your cardiorespiratory fitness<\/a>, vascular function, metabolic health, and your body\u2019s ability to tolerate physical stress, he says. \u201cThese are all factors closely associated with long-term health and survival,\u201d Satchidanand says.<\/p>\n Moving at a faster pace can also improve insulin sensitivity, which is how well your body\u2019s cells respond to a hormone that regulates blood sugar, says Kevin Shah, M.D<\/a>., cardiologist and program director of Heart Failure Outreach at MemorialCare Heart & Vascular Institute at Long Beach Medical Center in Long Beach, CA.<\/p>\n Add Prevention as a preferred source in your Google search results.<\/p>\n Use your Google account to add this to your settings.<\/p>\n Add to Google settings<\/p>\n The findings are a good reminder that step count isn\u2019t the only thing to consider on walks, Dr. Shah says. \u201cEven if someone takes fewer steps, increasing the intensity of those steps may provide meaningful health benefits,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Why might walking more, but at a slower pace be helpful, too?<\/p>\n This is one of the \u201cmore encouraging findings\u201d from the research, according to Satchidanand. \u201cWalking faster provides a greater physiological challenge per minute, but walking more provides a greater total volume of physical activity,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n When you walk for longer periods of time, you spend more time moving, training the large muscles of your legs, increasing energy burn, and improving circulation, Satchidanand explains. This also replaces time that you might have otherwise spent sitting.<\/p>\n Walking more, but at a slower pace, can also be a good way for someone who isn\u2019t currently exercising to start, Dr. Shah says. \u201cSimply walking more, even at a comfortable pace, can provide meaningful benefits,\u201d he says. \u201cAs fitness improves, they can gradually increase their pace or intensity if they are able to do so safely.\u201d<\/p>\n How many daily steps should you aim for?<\/p>\n That\u2019s up for debate. While 10,000 steps is the number people regularly cite for good health, it\u2019s a little arbitrary. The number was originally created<\/a> by a Japanese doctor named Iwao Ohya who created a fitness tracker called Manpo-Kei, which means “10,000 step meter\u201d in Japanese. (It\u2019s been suggested that 10,000 steps was chosen because the Japanese character for this looks like a person walking or running.)<\/p>\n This number was eventually picked up by fitness tracker developers and researchers, and took off from there.<\/p>\n While this study looked at a lowered risk of early death based on how many steps people took and the pace of their walking, a 2025 data analysis published in The Lancet Public Health<\/a> found that participants had a significant drop in their risk of developing chronic disease and early death when they walked between 5,000 and 7,000 steps a day compared to those who had low activity levels. The benefits continued at higher step counts, but at a slower rate of improvement.<\/p>\n What\u2019s the takeaway?<\/p>\n![\"Google\"](\"https:\/\/www.prevention.com\/_assets\/design-tokens\/fre\/static\/icons\/social\/google.1467f37.svg\")
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