Overview
- A large prospective study tracked 13,547 U.S. women around age 71 who wore accelerometers for seven days between 2011 and 2015 and were followed for nearly 11 years to the end of 2024.
- Reaching at least 4,000 steps on one or two days in the monitored week was associated with a 26% lower risk of death and a 27% lower risk of cardiovascular disease compared with never reaching that mark.
- Meeting 4,000 steps on three or more days correlated with an approximately 40% lower mortality risk, while cardiovascular risk reduction stayed near 27% and leveled at higher daily thresholds.
- Associations weakened after adjustment for average daily steps, indicating that total step volume across the week, rather than the frequency of ‘goal days,’ drove the benefit.
- The British Journal of Sports Medicine paper is observational and limited to older, mostly white women measured for only one week, and the authors urge considering step metrics in the 2028 U.S. Physical Activity Guidelines.