Forget 10,000 steps: Study shows longer walks matter more

Longer continuous bouts of 10-15 minutes or more brought down cardiovascular-event risk to about 4%

- BY ALEX ABRAHAM Senior Associate Editor

A new study has found that taking 10-15-minute continuous walks significantly lowers cardiovascular risk, especially for people who walk very little.

Researchers behind the study published in Annals of Internal Medicine analysed data on more than 33,500 adults aged 40-79 who averaged fewer than 8,000 steps per day and had no prior cardiovascular disease or cancer.

Participants wore wrist-accelerometers for a week to record not just how many steps they took, but how those steps were accumulated: in very short bursts (less than five minutes), or in longer continuous bouts (10-15 minutes or more).