Out of step: 10,000 step goal may be unnecessary for health

Struggle to fit in the recommended 10,000 steps a day?

No need to worry! New research from the US suggests as little as 6000 steps a day could be enough to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Assistant professor of kinesiology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Dr Amanda Paluch, says doing more steps per day is associated with a lower risk of early death, but only up to a certain point.

“Really it levels of at around 6000 to 8000 steps for older adults — older than 60 years old — and for adults younger than 60 it levels out at around 8000 to 10,000 steps per day,” she told Ross and Russel.

Dr Paluch says modest changes to get more steps in throughout the day are the easiest way to reach step goals.

“Typically people would get about 4000 steps throughout their daily walking,” she said.

A step count of 6000 is equivalent to about 4.8km of walking.

Press PLAY below to hear more about the findings