HOW MANY STEPS DO YOU ACTUALLY NEED?

We’ve all heard that we need 10k steps a day to gain the benefits of walking, but what does the most updated research actually say? A meta-analysis was published in July 2025 combined data from 57 studies across 35 cohorts.

New Findings

5,000 - 7,000 daily steps may be enough!

The analysis found that just 5,000-7,000 daily steps were associated with a decrease in cardiovascular disease incidence, cardiovascular disease mortality, cancer incidence, cancer mortality, type 2 diabetes incidence, depressive symptoms, dementia, falls.

7,000 steps per day was associated with a 47% lower risk of all-cause mortality when compared with 2,000 steps per day. The analysis also found that there was no significant difference in the risk of falls, cancer, Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular mortality between people who walked 7,000 versus 10,000 steps per day

Specifically, walking 7,000 steps per day was associated with:

• Improved metabolic health

• Increased heart strength and efficiency

• Weight loss and weight management

• Decreased cholesterol and blood sugar levels

Research also supports that walking at least 2,000-3,000 daily steps is also associated with the above benefits, but at a lesser extreme.

Next Steps

No Pun Intended

• Track your steps for 7-14 days to see where you’re starting. This will give you a good idea of what your typical daily step count is during the week and on the weekends. From there, you can set a goal to increase your step count as needed by 500-1k per week until you hit 5-7k. Use a fitness tracker, pedometer, or even your phone.

• Get more steps:

• Walk outside or on a treadmill

• Go on a hike

• Park your car as far away as possible when going anywhere - work, grocery store, a friend’s house, etc.

• Start small: go on a 10 minute walk 1-2 times a day

• Make it social: go on a walk with a friend or your family

• Walk during calls for work or with friends, either outside, on a walking pad, or around the house

• Walk around your house between meetings or calls if you work a remote desk job

• Aim to walk for 5-10 minutes before and/or after a workout

• Add 10-20 minutes onto your walk with your dog

• 1,000 steps is ~10 minutes of walking. Add this into your day when you can to become more active.

TLDR?

Getting up & walking or moving has to be a top priority for health and longevity, but you don’t need 10,000 steps every day to stay healthy. Scientific evidence now supports that 5,000–7,000 steps can significantly reduce risks of mortality, CVD, dementia, cancer, depression, and more.

This smaller, more achievable goal is easier to build into daily life, encourages consistency, and can still yield powerful health dividends over time. A daily step increase, even as little as 1,000 steps, lays the foundation for a longer, healthier life. Use this information to create a more attainable daily step goal.

Start with 2-3k daily steps, and aim to increase weekly by 1-2k until you hit closer to 5-7k daily step. The end goal should be to reach ~5,000-7,000 steps minimum each day for maximal benefits, but don’t pressure yourself to get more than that unless it comes naturally.