Walking 10,000 steps per day is a common benchmark for health and fitness.
But according to new research published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, walking at least 3967 steps a day can reduce the risk of dying from any cause.
Walking just 2337 steps a day can also reduce the risk of dying from diseases of the heart and blood vessels (cardiovascular disease).
The research, led by Maciej Banach friom the University of Lodz, found that if people walked 20,000 steps a day, the health benefits continued to increase.
The report said researchers have not found an upper limit yet.
The goal of 10,000 steps a day could be out the window, according to new research. (Source: 1News)
Banach said the study confirms that the more people walk, the better.
“We found that this applied to both men and women, irrespective of age, and irrespective of whether you live in a temperate, sub-tropical or sub-polar region of the world, or a region with a mixture of climates.
"In addition, our analysis indicates that as little as 4000 steps a day are needed to significantly reduce deaths from any cause, and even fewer to reduce deaths from cardiovascular disease.”
Speaking to Breakfast this morning, Grant Schofield, AUT behavioural nutrition and physical activity professor, said the more steps per day the better.
He said 10,000 steps every day sounds like a lot, but it equates to about an hour and 40 minutes of movement.
"It sounds like a lot but if you take into account walking round the house, doing dishes, doing your day-to-day business it's about your day-to-day movements and a 30 minute walk, so that ends up being about the guidelines."
Schofield said he's "still set" on doing as many steps as you can, but 4000 is the number that provides the minimum benefit.
"It's worth saying that New Zealand has an inactivity, low fitness problem and it's changed quite a bit.
"Twenty years ago we were one of the fittest countries in the world, now [we're] in the bottom third of the OECD."
SHARE ME