{"id":216773,"date":"2025-06-26T20:27:10","date_gmt":"2025-06-26T20:27:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/216773\/"},"modified":"2025-06-26T20:27:10","modified_gmt":"2025-06-26T20:27:10","slug":"reduce-risk-of-dementia-by-walking-optimal-amount-of-steps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/216773\/","title":{"rendered":"Reduce risk of dementia by walking ‘optimal’ amount of steps"},"content":{"rendered":"

Doctors across the board concur that walking<\/a> is good for your health.<\/a> Often undervalued as a form of exercise, the NHS<\/a> reinforces that even a brisk ten-minute power walk can shower you with benefits, ranging from boosting your heart’s wellbeing to potentially reducing dementia<\/a> susceptibility.<\/p>\n

But 0nce you’re kitted up and poised for action, opinions split on the ideal step quota. The standard benchmark for many is hitting the daily target of 10,000 steps; an impressive yet feasible goal for the committed walker. Based on the average person’s stride and speed, this equates to approximately five to eight kilometres, a trek that averages out to about one to two hours on foot.<\/p>\n

But what’s the origin story behind this specific tally?<\/p>\n

Interestingly, reports suggest that the 10,000-step target surged in popularity due to a promotional stunt tied to the 1964 Olympics<\/a> for a pedometer called Manpo-kei, which translates to “10,000 step meter”. This is because the kanji for ten-thousand (\u4e07) resembles a person striding, reports\u00a0SurreyLive.<\/a><\/p>\n

How many steps should you walk per day? <\/strong><\/p>\n

The quest to pinpoint the ultimate step count has intrigued researchers, with studies yielding varying verdicts.<\/p>\n

According to findings published in a recent 2022 study in JAMA Neurology<\/a>, clocking up anything from 3,800 to 9,800 steps daily could be associated with a diminished risk of dementia. The research suggests that just shy of 10,000 steps, particularly when taken briskly at a pace of around 112 steps per minute, might be the “optimal dose” for lowering the chances of developing dementia.<\/p>\n

Researchers have discovered that there’s no need to panic if you’re not hitting the 10,000 steps a day target.<\/p>\n

A comprehensive review of 17 studies involving over 226,000 participants revealed that as few as 2,337 steps a day could reduce the risk of dying from heart and circulatory diseases,<\/a> while 3,867 steps could decrease the risk of death from any cause.<\/p>\n

Beyond this point, each additional 1,000 steps was associated with a 15% reduced risk of death. If you’re seeking a specific step count goal, research published in the European Journal of Preventative Cardiology<\/a> in 2023 suggests aiming for between 7,000 and 13,000 steps if you’re under 60.<\/p>\n

For those aged 60 and over, the most significant health improvements were observed when walking between 6,000 to 10,000 steps.<\/p>\n

Walking more than 2,200 steps, roughly equivalent to a mile, was linked with reduced mortality and cardiovascular disease, according to a study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine<\/a> in 2024.<\/p>\n

For women over 60, walking between 6,000 and 7,500 steps decreased the risk of death from any cause, as reported in a 2022 review in The Lancet.<\/a> The benefits levelled off between 8,000 to 10,000 steps for individuals under 60.<\/p>\n

Another factor \u2014 how fast you walk<\/p>\n

However, it’s not just about the number of steps you take \u2013 the speed at which you walk also matters.\u00a0A study published in BMJ Heart<\/a> earlier this year found that maintaining a brisk pace could lower the risk of heart rhythm problems.<\/p>\n

The researchers categorised a slow pace as under 3mph, an average pace as 3-4mph, and a brisk one as more than 4mph.\u00a0Even when considering demographic and lifestyle factors, an average or brisk walking pace was associated with a 35 per cent or 43 per cent reduced risk of heart rhythm irregularities compared to a slow pace.<\/p>\n

The study revealed that individuals who walk at a faster pace were linked to a lower risk of atrial fibrillation and other heart rhythm disorders.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Doctors across the board concur that walking is good for your health. Often undervalued as a form of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":216774,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[425,1154,105,302,85930,16,15,5182],"class_list":{"0":"post-216773","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health","8":"tag-dementia","9":"tag-exercise","10":"tag-health","11":"tag-heart-disease","12":"tag-reduce-dementia-and-heart-disease-risk-by-walking","13":"tag-uk","14":"tag-united-kingdom","15":"tag-walking"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114751553156434632","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216773","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=216773"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216773\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/216774"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=216773"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=216773"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=216773"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}