The most important steps to a longer life

Hi, I’m Alex, a designer at Datawrapper focused on interface and experience design. Since I like to run a lot to improve my health, I was curious about the impact of daily steps on our longevity.

At this point, it’s common knowledge: We should aim to walk around 10,000 steps per day to live a healthier and longer life. While this sounds like a logical thing to do — we humans were built to move, not to sit all day — I always wondered where 10,000 steps came from. Is it just a nice round number to tell people or is there a scientific reason behind it?

Are 10,000 steps a myth?

Researchers asked this very question in a huge study with over 78,000 participants in the United Kingdom. And the results?

The study shows that there are clear benefits to at least aiming for the 10K goal. Walking more than 7,000 steps per day already reduces the risk of dying by more than half. On the other hand, going beyond 10,000 steps per day doesn’t make a big difference anymore.

For those at risk of cardiovascular diseases, cancer, or dementia, walking 7,000-10,000 steps a day can be even more effective. It seems to be associated with lower chances of developing or dying from these conditions. (However, the health gains may decrease again after reaching more than 10,000 steps a day.)

And if you're someone who takes “purposeful steps” (faster pace, more than 40 steps per minute), you can reach similar results a little bit faster. But for maximum positive effects, 10,000 steps at any pace are still your best bet.

(There is less data available for higher step counts, so you might want to take those findings with a grain of salt. They show an interesting trend nonetheless.)

Conclusion

Overall, it’s easy to see that it actually is a good idea to aim for 10,000 steps per day!

It’s crazy to me how big an impact that seemingly simple thing, like walking more, can have on our health. I always knew walking was important for mobility, heart, and bones. What really surprised me was the difference it can make for people at risk of cancer and even dementia.

With most smartwatches and phones being able to track steps these days, it can be a great indicator of how much we move. I’m already someone who likes to walk instead of going by car, bus, or train, but now I might get back to my daily after-work walk around the hood. Maybe you should too?🚶

Disclaimer: I’d like to emphasize that I’m not a doctor or anyone with medical training. I’m just very interested in the topic. 😉 If you have any concerns, questions or health problems, always consult your doctor.

It’s time to go for a walk now! If you want to dive deeper into the topic, I can recommend watching this video which discusses the studies and other factors in more detail. See you next week for our next weekly chart from our developer Julian.