Meta-analysis of 47,500 adults finds 6,000–8,000 daily steps enough for older adults
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A meta-analysis of nearly 47,500 adults found that mortality risk kept falling as people took more daily steps, but the benefit leveled off at 6,000 to 8,000 steps for adults aged 60 and older. The finding challenges the widely promoted 10,000-step target, which originated from a 1960s Japanese pedometer marketing campaign rather than scientific research. The study, published in 2022 by the Steps for Health Collaborative, pooled data from 15 international studies across four continents.
Key Facts
- The meta-analysis pooled data from 15 international studies covering nearly 47,500 adults across four continents.
- For adults aged 60 and older, mortality risk reduction leveled off at approximately 6,000 to 8,000 steps per day.
- Compared with the least active group averaging 3,500 steps daily, the three more active groups had a 40–53% lower risk of dying during the study.
- The 10,000-step target originated from a mid-1960s Japanese pedometer marketing campaign, not from scientific research.
- Walking speed did not add a clear benefit once total steps were accounted for, according to the analysis.
Study Design and Findings
The Steps for Health Collaborative, led by University of Massachusetts Amherst epidemiologist Amanda Paluch, combined data from 15 international studies. The pooled sample included nearly 50,000 people across four continents, tracked for early death. Researchers split participants into four groups by daily step count and found death rates dropped as counts climbed. The three more active groups had a 40 to 53 percent lower risk of dying compared with the least active quarter, who averaged about 3,500 steps a day. Walking speed did not add a clear benefit of its own once total steps were counted.
Origins of the 10,000-Step Target
The 10,000-step goal traces back to a mid-1960s Japanese pedometer whose name translated roughly to '10,000-step meter.' Harvard Medical School epidemiologist I-Min Lee stated there were no actual studies that had looked at 10,000 steps when the device was developed. Lee described the figure as 'a made-up number in the sense that 10,000 sounds good, it's easy to remember.' The round number stuck because it was catchy and easy to remember, not because anyone had studied it.
Age-Specific Step Thresholds
The benefit of more steps climbed steeply at first, then flattened out. For adults aged 60 and older, the leveling-off point sat at roughly 6,000 to 8,000 steps a day. Paluch described the pattern as 'this incremental reduction in risk as steps increase, until it levels off.' The study is observational, showing a strong link without proving that walking itself caused the lower death rates.
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Meta-analysis of 47,500 adults finds 6,000–8,000 daily steps enough for older adults
