Getting those steps in does reduce the risk of early death. But it is also the pace that matters

It is not only the number of steps per day but also the walking pace that matters for lowering the risk of early death, according to new research. It is both: the number of steps and the walking pace that count against all-cause and cardiovascular disease mortality, a new study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found. This means different combinations of the number of daily steps and walking pace can be associated with a lower risk of early death. “Our findings inform flexible step-based pathways to lower mortality risk for middle-aged and older adults, particularly those with barriers to increasing daily step counts or stepping intensity,” researchers said, highlighting that most of the studies did not look at the association of different combinations of daily step counts and stepping intensity with mortality risk. The researchers analysed activity-tracker data from middle-aged participants in the UK Biobank, who wore a device for seven days between 2013 and 2015. After looking at wearable device data from 64,743 participants aged 40 to 69 years who took from less than 5,000 to over 10,000 steps per day at different paces researchers found that taking between 7,500 to 10,000 steps per day showed the biggest reduction in early death irresponsible of the pace. In the meantime, a brisker pace for at least 30 minutes every day – taking 90 steps per minute – was also associated with a lower risk of death from any cause, irrespective of how many steps were taken. “Regardless of total daily step counts, maintaining higher walking cadence maybe a promising target for preventing premature mortality,” researchers said. For those living a sedentary lifestyle with less than 5,000 steps per day, “increasing stepping pace may substantially lower all-cause and cardiovascular disease mortality risk,” researchers said. In the meantime, those who prefer to walk slower can benefit from taking more steps instead.