How many steps a day do you really need? What science says

The 10,000-steps-a-day figure is everywhere: on watches, in apps, in friends’ advice. But is it what science says? The short answer: you need less than you thought, and the first stretch is the one that counts most.

What the 2025 study found

In 2025, a research team published in The Lancet Public Health a systematic review and meta-analysis of 57 studies (35 cohorts from different countries). They compared how many steps people walk each day with their health over the years.

The main findings:

• Walking 7,000 steps a day was linked to a 47% lower risk of death from any cause than walking 2,000.
• For overall mortality, cardiovascular disease, dementia and falls, the benefit curve flattens at around 5,000 to 7,000 steps.
• Beyond 7,000 steps, the extra benefit for most outcomes was modest.

An earlier meta-analysis of 15 cohorts, published in 2022 in the same journal, had already found something similar: more steps are linked to lower mortality, up to a point where the benefit levels off.

The authors note these are observational studies: they show a strong association, not proof of cause and effect. Still, the direction is clear and consistent across studies.

What about 10,000 steps?

They’re not wrong: if you’re already active, they’re still a good goal. The problem is treating them as the minimum. For someone who walks 3,000 steps today, 10,000 feels impossible and discouraging. 7,000, on the other hand, is a realistic goal that already brings most of the benefit.

How to add steps without thinking about it

• Walk while you’re on the phone. A 10-minute call is about 1,000 steps.
• Get off one stop early or park farther away.
• Take a short walk after eating. Ten minutes is enough to start.
• Swap a bit of scrolling for a walk around the block. That’s exactly the idea behind Walkzen.

How Walkzen uses this

Walkzen builds your goal from what you already walk. If you walk fewer than 7,000 steps today, it suggests the healthy goal of 8,000, backed by these studies. If you already walk more, it suggests raising it little by little, with levels relative to your average.

And so that walking has an instant reward, each block of steps gives you minutes to use the apps you paused.