Is Your Step Count Too Low? Try Walking Faster

You don’t need to take 10,000 steps a day to improve your health. Studies have shown that much smaller step counts can substantially reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and death. Now, researchers have found that the intensity of your walk matters just as much, and that walking quickly—even for brief periods—lowers a person’s risk of death about as much as walking more slowly for a longer period of time. What's the best step count and walking speed?In this study, the researchers drew on data from participants in the UK Biobank, a long-term project that monitors the health of half a million people in the U.K. in hopes of uncovering the roots of disease. They aimed to fill a particular gap in the literature, says Borja del Poro Cruz, a professor at Universidad Europea de Madrid and an author of the study. “The vast majority of the body of evidence had looked at the volume of daily steps and health outcomes,” he says. “Few studies have isolated and looked at cadence.”The team looked at participants’ step counts measured by wearable fitness trackers, how many steps they took per minute, and their likelihood of dying over the next few years. They uncovered a relationship: For peop...