Long Walks For Heart Health
A single long walk every day is more beneficial for your heart than several short walks, especially if you don’t exercise regularly, according to a study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine journal in October.
The international study found that people who walked continuously for 10-15 minutes a day had a lower risk of having a stroke, heart attack, or an early death. However, people who walked continuously for only five minutes a day had a higher risk of having a cardiovascular event.
There is a common belief that taking 10,000 steps a day is necessary. But that’s not what scientists at the University of Sydney and the Universidad Europea in Spain found in their study. They noticed that the health benefits of continuous walking were greatest among the least active, such as those who walked fewer than 5,000 steps a day.
“There is a perception that health professionals have recommended walking 10,000 steps a day is the goal, but this isn’t necessary,” Dr. Matthew Ahmadi, the study’s co-lead author and a member of the Charles Perkins Centre at the University of Sydney, said in a press release.
The 10,000 steps idea dates back to the 1960s in Japan, when a company launched a marketing campaign to sell pedometers. In addition, other studies have found that walking anywhere from 2,300 to 4,000 steps a day can help people maintain their health and reduce the risk of dying early. There are even more health benefits for those who walk an unlimited number of steps each day.
“Simply adding one or two longer walks per day, each lasting at least 10-15 minutes at a comfortable but steady pace, may have significant benefits—especially for people who don’t walk much,” Dr. Ahmadi said.
About the Study
While any number of steps is beneficial, the researchers wanted to determine whether the duration of a walk is also important. So, they selected the study’s participants from the UK Biobank, an ongoing project that tracks the long-term health of residents in the United Kingdom. The study involved 33,560 adults between 40 and 79 years old who walked fewer than 8,000 steps a day, were sedentary, and had no history of cardiovascular disease or cancer.
Participants wore a research wristband for a week that measured the number of steps they took and how their step counts accumulated. Over the nearly eight-year follow-up period, 735 people died, and more than 3,000 people developed cardiovascular disease.
During this time, the study found that participants who walked continuously for 10-15 minutes a day had a four percent chance of having a cardiovascular-related event, while those who walked for only five minutes a day had a 13 percent risk of having a cardiovascular event.
The study also found that participants who walked fewer than 5,000 steps a day experienced the greatest health benefits. Within this group:
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- The risk of developing cardiovascular disease fell from 15 percent among participants who walked up to five minutes a day, and fell seven percent among those who walked up to 15 minutes a day.
- The risk of death dropped from five percent for those who walked continuously for five minutes, and less than one percent for those who walked up to 15 minutes a day.
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The researchers said they wanted to account for many variables in their analysis, such as the number of steps the participants took. However, the research team noted the possibility of missing some important differences between long- and short-walkers that would better explain why those who walked longer lived longer, outside of their average walking length.
Nonetheless, the team still encouraged people, especially those who are least active, to walk each day.
“These results can inform physical activity recommendations for individuals—particularly those who are otherwise sedentary or low-active—to incorporate longer, purposeful walking sessions into their daily routines to optimize health outcomes,” the researchers wrote in their paper.
It’s Not Always the Number of Steps that Count
When it comes to walking, there’s a tendency to emphasize the number of steps to take or the total amount of walking to achieve but neglect the “crucial role of patterns,” such as “how” walking is done, according to senior author Professor Emmanuel Stamatakis, Director of the Mackenzie Wearables Research Hub and physical activity theme leader at the Charles Perkins Centre.
“This study shows that even people who are very physically inactive can maximize their heart health benefit by tweaking their walking patterns to walk for longer at a time, ideally for at least 10-15 minutes, when possible,” Stamatakis said in a press release.
Besides the duration of walking, the study also shows that simple changes can make a difference to your health, according to co-lead author Dr. Borja del Pozo from the Universidad Europea.
“If you walk a little, set aside some time to walk more often and in longer sessions,” Dr. del Pozo said in a press release. “Such small changes can have a big impact.”
Source Links:
https://gizmodo.com/this-is-how-long-your-walks-should-be-to-keep-you-healthiest-study-finds-2000677946
https://www.sydney.edu.au/news-opinion/news/2025/10/28/10-15-minute-bouts-of-walking-is-better-for-your-cardiovascular-health-than-shorter-strolls.html
