Walking 7,000 steps rather than the traditional 10,000 could be sufficient to boost brainpower and guard against critical illnesses like cancer, dementia and heart disease.
This is according to a study published in the Lancet Public Health which found this number of steps was linked with a reduced risk of serious health issues.
The study analysed previous research and data on the health and activity of more than 160,000 adults around the world.
Compared with those who walked 2,000 steps a day, researchers found that 7,000 steps was linked to reduced risk of several serious conditions. These were:
- cardiovascular disease – down 25%
- cancer – down 6%
- dementia – down 38%
- and depression – down 22%
The research backed-up a study carried out by Discovery Vitality last year whose Habit Index mapped the behaviours and habits of more than one million Vitality programme members across South Africa and the UK over a 10-year period and drew the same conclusion.