The researches also determined that the advantages of walking went up, with no specific limit, even as high as 20,000 steps daily.

Walking just under 4,000 steps a day is associated with a reduced risk of early death, and even fewer than 2,500 steps a day could decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease-related mortality, a new study suggested, challenging the commonly cited 10,000-step goal for health.

The recent research of available evidence suggests that achieving the necessary number of steps for maintaining good health may be simpler than previously thought.

The widely known 10,000-step target has often been regarded as a benchmark for achieving good physical wellbeing. However, this recommendation originated from a 1960s marketing campaign by a Japanese company promoting their pedometres, rather than being based on dedicated scientific investigation, the study suggested.

Other studies following this campaign also raised doubts about the notion of 10,000 steps daily as a definitive indicator of health.

Numerous studies have always highlighted a connection between physical activity and an extended, healthier life, as well as a link between a sedentary lifestyle and poorer health. However, the research team looked to establish a more precise guideline for the appropriate number of steps for adequate physical fitness.

The group conducted a meta-analysis of 17 diverse studies encompassing over 200,000 individuals globally, including generally healthy individuals and those vulnerable to cardiovascular disease. The study employed step count as a gauge of physical activity. It indicated that roughly 2,000 steps equate to a mile or 1.6 kilometres due to variations in stride lengths.

The studies also monitored the participants’ health outcomes, including mortality, over an average span of around seven years.

The researchers began observing a noteworthy connection between physical activity and a decreased risk of premature death, with a significant association appearing at just 3,867 steps per day, and for cardiovascular-related mortality, a potential benefit being evident with only 2,337 steps a day.

They determined that the advantages of walking extended with no specific limit, even up to 20,000 steps daily.

The findings do, however, come with certain limitations.

The studies did not uniformly employ the same method of step counting, potentially impacting the interpretation of their findings. The research solely established a correlation between step count and a lowered risk of mortality. A direct cause-and-effect relationship was not conclusively deduced, it said.

The authors did however assert that their study is unique in its approach, as it considered factors such as regional climate differences, age, and gender. The team discovered a slightly smaller reduction in mortality risk for individuals aged 60 and above compared to younger individuals.

This also is not the first study to underscore the significance of even modest physical activity and the overall benefits of increasing exercise.

“Our study confirms that the more you walk, the better,” said study author Maciej Banach, a professor of cardiology at the Medical University of Lodz in Poland, in a statement released by the European Society of Cardiology, publishers of the journal.

“We found that this applied to both men and women, irrespective of age, and irrespective of whether you live in a temperate, sub-tropical or sub-polar region of the world, or a region with a mixture of climates.”