How much should we be walking?

Ewa Monteith-Hodge, our Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning Officer

We know that walking is one of the easiest ways to stay active and healthy. Any amount of walking is better than no walking at all, and it brings a huge number of benefits.

10,000 steps a day is seen as the target for many. However, the latest research suggests that for those of us who are not already hitting those numbers, aiming for 7,000+ steps a day can bring several meaningful health improvements compared to a low of 2,000 steps.

The findings, published in the Lancet Public Health, highlights that the benefits from walking 7,000 steps include:

47% lower risk of all-cause mortality
37% lower risk of cancer mortality
38% lower risk of dementia
28% lower risk of falls

Another recent study, this time in npj Digital Medicine, has shown that paying attention to the number of steps you are taking can have an immediate impact. In over 200,000 adults in England using the Public Health England Active 10 app, levels of walking increased on the day it was downloaded. Though walking did decrease again over time, it stayed above the pre-download levels. Those who used the app for longer and opened it more often had higher initial increases in their levels of brisk walking. People who had set targets also showed a higher initial increase in their walking than those who did not.

Taking part in our Step Count Challenge is a great way to kick-start a healthy interest in the number of steps you are taking every day. Your next chance to get involved is this autumn, with a challenge that lasts for 4 weeks and includes weekly targets to help inspire and motivate you. In the first week we’ve increased the daily target from 6,000 to 7,000 steps in line with these recent findings.

Published: 14 August 2025