Camilla Jessen
Why longer walks may beat daily step targets.
Health advice has long promoted targets such as 8,000 or 10,000 steps a day, partly because they are simple and easy to measure. This focus has been especially strong as sedentary jobs and car-based travel have reduced everyday movement.
But researchers are now questioning whether all steps offer the same health benefits.
According to the American College of Physicians, how walking is structured during the day may be just as important as how much people walk overall.
A new British study points to differences that could reshape common advice.
Inside the study
The research drew on data from the UK Biobank and followed 33,560 adults for nearly ten years. All participants were relatively inactive and walked fewer than 8,000 steps per day on average.
Researchers analysed not only how much participants walked, but how they walked. Some people accumulated steps through many short bouts, while others took longer, uninterrupted walks.
The findings were published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
Clear health differences
According to the study, people who walked for longer, continuous periods had a lower risk of early death and cardiovascular disease. The benefits increased as the length of uninterrupted walking grew.
This pattern appeared regardless of the total number of daily steps. Researchers said the results suggest the body responds more positively to sustained movement than to frequent stop-start activity.
The protective effect was strongest among the most inactive participants.
What it means day to day
For adults walking fewer than 5,000 steps per day, longer walks were linked to noticeably better outcomes. In this group, a consistent daily walk made a meaningful difference.
The findings indicate that for less active people, setting aside time for a steady walk may be more beneficial than trying to reach a specific step total.
Researchers say the results support a more flexible view of physical activity, especially for those struggling to meet traditional step goals.
Sources: Annals of Internal Medicine, Science Daily
