A new large-scale study led by the University of Sydney shows that walking 7000 steps a day can offer almost the same health benefits as walking 10,000 steps.
The study was led by Professor Melody Ding from the School of Public Health and was published in The Lancet Public Health.
It looked at data from 57 studies carried out between 2014 and 2025 in more than 10 countries, including Australia, the USA, the UK, and Japan.
This study is the biggest and most complete review so far on this topic. Researchers examined how different step counts each day affect the risk of dying from heart disease or cancer, and the chances of developing health problems like cancer, type 2 diabetes, dementia, and depression.
The key finding is that walking 7000 steps a day is a more realistic and achievable goal for many people than 10,000 steps. Professor Ding said that even small improvements—like going from 2000 to 4000 steps a day—can lead to noticeable health benefits.
She added that walking at least 7000 steps can greatly reduce the risk of major health problems like heart disease, dementia, and depression.
The study involved people who used step-counting devices like pedometers, accelerometers, and fitness trackers to measure how much they walked. The researchers compared health outcomes at different step levels, starting at 2000 steps and increasing by 1000-step intervals.
Here are some of the main findings:
– Walking 7000 steps a day reduced the risk of death by 47%, almost the same benefit as walking 10,000 steps.
– Dementia risk dropped by 38% at 7000 steps, with only a small extra drop of 7% at 10,000 steps.
– Type 2 diabetes risk dropped by 22% at 10,000 steps and went to 27% at 12,000 steps.
– Big health improvements were seen when people increased their steps from 2000 to 5000–7000 steps a day.
Dr. Katherine Owen, co-author and chief analyst of the study, said that 10,000 steps are still great for those who are already active. However, most of the benefits happen around 7000 steps, and the gains after that are smaller.
The research team is now working with the Australian government to use this data in updating physical activity guidelines. Professor Ding emphasized that the goal should be about progress, not perfection. Even a small increase in movement each day can bring real health benefits.
Experts are also suggesting that future research should look at how step goals might differ depending on a person’s age, health, and where they live. They hope to collect more long-term data and include more diverse groups of people to make the guidelines even more useful for doctors and the public.
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The study is published in The Lancet Public Health.
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