Posted on 06/17/2026 6:41:06 PM PDT by Red Badger
You've probably heard that adults should aim for 10,000 daily steps.
This one-size-fits-all approach provides a clear message, though it doesn't consider how varied human lifestyles and bodies are.
In 2024, an international team of researchers found that even the most sedentary among us could ward off the harmful effects of sitting by incorporating more steps into our day.
Sedentary lifestyles are increasingly common, and we know they're linked to higher odds of dying from cardiovascular disease (CVD), greater risk of cancer and diabetes, and a shorter lifespan.
Those risks are lower for people with higher step counts and faster-paced walkers.
But it hasn't been clear whether highly sedentary people might be able to offset those alarming health risks with daily steps.
Watch the video below for a summary of the findings:
VIDEO AT LINK..........
The more steps that people in the study took, no matter how sedentary they were otherwise, the less risk they had of CVD and even early death.
So those of us with desk jobs are not totally doomed, though the researchers emphasize that it's still important to try to reduce sedentary time overall.
"This is by no means a get out of jail card for people who are sedentary for excessive periods of time," population health scientist Matthew Ahmadi from the University of Sydney explained when the research was published.
"However, it does hold an important public health message that all movement matters and that people can and should try to offset the health consequences of unavoidable sedentary time by upping their daily step count."
Ahmadi and colleagues analyzed data from 72,174 volunteers contributing to the UK Biobank, a large long-term dataset established in 2006 that will continue to track participants' health measures over at least 30 years.
There was an average of 6.9 years' worth of general health data for each participant included in the study. Participants had worn wrist accelerometers for seven days to estimate their physical activity levels, such as the number of steps they usually took and the time they usually spent sitting.
The median time spent sedentary was 10.6 hours each day, so those who spent more time than that were deemed to have 'high sedentary time', while those with fewer hours were deemed to have 'low sedentary time'.
Participants whose stats in the first two years might have been affected by poor health weren't included in the study, so the findings apply only to people who, for at least the first two years' worth of data, were generally healthy. It's unclear whether the data included participants with disabilities affecting step count.
The team found between 9,000 and 10,000 daily steps were optimal to counteract a highly sedentary lifestyle, lowering incident CVD risk by 21 percent and mortality risk by 39 percent.
Regardless of a participant's sedentary time, the researchers discovered that 50 percent of the benefits kicked in at around 4,000 to 4,500 daily steps.
Related: New Daily Steps Goal Shows You Don't Need 10,000 to Keep The Weight Off
"Any amount of daily steps above the referent 2,200 steps per day was associated with lower mortality and incident CVD risk, for low and high sedentary time," Ahmadi and colleagues wrote.
"Accruing between 9,000 and 10,000 steps a day optimally lowered the risk of mortality and incident CVD among highly sedentary participants."
This research was published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.
An earlier version of this article was published in March 2024.
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Ok, going for a walk now.
I always lose count while the day is still young.
At least with my iphone, I don’t have to manually count them anymore.
I walked 3.5 miles after work.
7000 steps...................
My smartwatch counts step, distance in miles or km, and calories burned and heart rate...................
If I hear one more “I gotta get my steps in” I’m gonna scream.
My smartwatch counts step, distance in miles or km, and calories burned and heart rate...................
You can buy a smartwatch at Walmart that does all that stuff for under a hundred bucks...........
I say that every day!...............
I just get out and walk a few miles without worrying about all the numbers.
You don’t really have to count if you know the distance fairly accurately, just divide by the length of your stride..............
Yay!! You did just over a 5K!! 👏🏻
Isn’t it actually the work [as defined by Physics] that is done?
Hills and stairs count.
I got into the habit of walking for an hour first thing every morning. I lost over 100 pounds in less than a year. Then I broke my foot and gained back 40 pounds. I am now back to walking and trying to lose the weight again.
On weekends I sometimes do 10k................
The length of my stride varies according to terrain, surface, weight carried, etc. As I say, I’m not too concerned with the numbers, I don’t keep records or compare with anyone else. I just feel better if I walk an hour or so at a decent pace several times a week.
Anyway, I was kidding about losing count. I never even start counting steps in the first place.
Cut carbs, sweets and you’ll be fine!............
Good for you!
Yes, you carry your carcass with you everywhere you go!..............
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