Dec 29, 2025
3 min read
A number of population studies have investigated whether daily steps—that is, how a person reaches the number of steps each day—and not the number of steps, affects long-term health.
A large population-based study examined whether daily step count—how a person achieves their total number of steps each day—rather than total step count—affects long-term health.
The study focused on low-activity adults who averaged less than 8,000 feet per day.It found that the benefits of walking are not limited to the number of steps, but are closely related to how those steps are distributed throughout the day.
According to an analysis of data from more than 33,000 adults in the UK Biobank, researchers have found that extending the duration of continuous walking sessions significantly reduces the risk of death from any cause and reduces the likelihood of developing cardiovascular disease, compared to walking in short, short fragments.
Participants were followed for nearly ten years, allowing researchers to identify a clear link between walking and long-term health outcomes.Overall, the risk of death fell from about 4.4% in those who walked less than five minutes to less than 1% in those who engaged in a walking session of 15 minutes or more.
The benefits were most pronounced for heart health, and the risk of cardiovascular disease decreased from 13% to about 4% as the duration of uninterrupted walking increased.
The results were especially noticeable in people with very low activity levels - those who took no more than 5,000 steps a day.This group saw greater benefits from longer walking sessions, highlighting the importance of quality over quantity, especially for sedentary people.
The study confirms that walking is not just a temporary movement, but a health-promoting activity whose effect varies with regularity and duration.Incorporating even one continuous walk each day can be the key to improving health and extending life, without necessarily increasing the total number of daily steps.
