It doesn’t matter how much you sit — walking more could lower your risk of death and disease
More steps, less risk—your daily walk might be the simplest health upgrade you can make.
Date: April 18, 2026 Source: University of Sydney Summary: Sitting all day might not be as damaging as once feared—if you’re willing to move more. A massive study tracking over 72,000 people found that simply increasing daily steps can significantly reduce the risk of death and heart disease, even for those who spend long hours sedentary. Hitting around 9,000–10,000 steps a day delivered the biggest benefits, cutting mortality risk by nearly 40% and cardiovascular disease by over 20%. Share: Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIN Email FULL STORY
For people who spend long hours at a desk, new research offers encouraging news. A study from the University of Sydney's Charles Perkins Centre (Australia) suggests that increasing your daily step count may help reduce the health risks linked to prolonged sitting.
The findings, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, are based on data from more than 72,000 individuals. Researchers found that each increase in daily steps, up to about 10,000 steps per day, was associated with a lower risk of death (39 percent) and cardiovascular disease (21 percent). These benefits were seen regardless of how much time participants spent sitting.
Why Daily Steps Matter for Health
Earlier research has already linked higher step counts with lower risks of death and cardiovascular disease (CVD). Other studies have shown that spending long periods sitting can raise those same risks. What makes this study different is that it directly examined whether walking more could help counteract the negative effects of sedentary behavior, using objective data from wearable devices.
Lead author and research fellow, Dr. Matthew Ahmadi, emphasized that walking is not a complete solution to excessive sitting. "This is by no means a get out of jail card for people who are sedentary for excessive periods of time, however, it does hold an important public health message that all movement matters and that people can and should try to offset the health consequences of unavoidable sedentary time by upping their daily step count."
Senior author Professor Emmanuel Stamatakis, Director of the Mackenzie Wearables Research Hub at the Charles Perkins Centre, highlighted the broader impact of this type of research. Studies that rely on wearable devices are opening new possibilities for understanding and improving public health.
"Step count is a tangible and easily understood measure of physical activity that can help people in the community, and indeed health professionals, accurately monitor physical activity. We hope this evidence will inform the first generation of device-based physical activity and sedentary behavior guidelines, which should include key recommendations on daily stepping," said Professor Stamatakis.
How Researchers Measured Steps and Sitting Time
To conduct the study, researchers analyzed information from 72,174 participants (average age 61; 58% female) in the UK Biobank, a large biomedical database. Each participant wore an accelerometer on their wrist for seven days, allowing researchers to track both step count and sedentary time, defined as time spent sitting or lying down while awake.
The team then monitored participants' health over time by linking their data to hospital records and death registries.
Participants averaged 6222 steps per day. The lowest activity group, defined as those taking about 2200 steps per day (the lowest 5 percent of daily steps among all participants), served as the baseline for comparison.
On average, participants spent 10.6 hours per day sedentary. Those with 10.5 hours or more of sedentary time were classified as highly sedentary, while those below that threshold were considered less sedentary.
To improve accuracy, researchers excluded individuals with poor health, those who were underweight, or anyone who experienced a major health event within two years of follow-up. They also adjusted for factors such as age, sex, ethnicity, education, smoking, alcohol use, diet, and family history of CVD and cancer.
Step Count Linked to Lower Risk of Death and Heart Disease
Over an average follow-up period of 6.9 years, there were 1633 deaths and 6190 cases of cardiovascular disease among participants.
After accounting for various influencing factors, researchers identified a clear pattern. The greatest reduction in risk was seen among those taking between 9000 and 10000 steps per day. At this level, the risk of death dropped by 39 percent, and the risk of cardiovascular disease decreased by 21 percent.
Importantly, significant benefits appeared well below that range. About half of the total risk reduction was achieved with just 4000 to 4500 steps per day.
Study Limitations and Key Takeaway
Because this was an observational study, it cannot prove cause and effect. While the large sample size and long follow-up strengthen the findings, the researchers note that unmeasured factors could still play a role. They also point out that step counts and sedentary time were measured at a single point, which may introduce some bias.
Even so, the overall message is clear. Increasing daily steps is linked to lower risks of death and cardiovascular disease, even for people who spend much of their day sitting.
As the authors conclude, "Any amount of daily steps above the referent 2200 steps/day was associated with lower mortality and incident CVD risk, for low and high sedentary time. Accruing between 9000 and 10,000 steps a day optimally lowered the risk of mortality and incident CVD among highly sedentary participants."
Story Source:
Materials provided by University of Sydney. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.
Journal Reference:
- Matthew N Ahmadi, Leandro F M Rezende, Gerson Ferrari, Borja Del Pozo Cruz, I-Min Lee, Emmanuel Stamatakis. Do the associations of daily steps with mortality and incident cardiovascular disease differ by sedentary time levels? A device-based cohort study. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2024; 58 (5): 261 DOI: 10.1136/bjsports-2023-107221
Cite This Page:
University of Sydney. "It doesn’t matter how much you sit — walking more could lower your risk of death and disease." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 18 April 2026. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/04/260417085409.htm>. University of Sydney. (2026, April 18). It doesn’t matter how much you sit — walking more could lower your risk of death and disease. ScienceDaily. Retrieved April 18, 2026 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/04/260417085409.htm University of Sydney. "It doesn’t matter how much you sit — walking more could lower your risk of death and disease." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/04/260417085409.htm (accessed April 18, 2026).Explore More
from ScienceDaily RELATED STORIES This Easy Daily Habit Cuts Heart Risk by Two Thirds Oct. 28, 2025 New research reveals that walking in longer, uninterrupted bouts of 10–15 minutes significantly lowers cardiovascular disease risk—by up to two-thirds compared to shorter strolls. Scientists from ... 7000 Steps a Day Cuts Death Risk by 47%—and That Might Be All You Need July 27, 2025 Walking 7000 steps a day may be just as powerful as hitting the much-hyped 10,000-step goal when it comes to reducing the risk of early death and disease. A sweeping global review of 57 studies shows ... After Cardiac Event, People Who Regularly Sit for Too Long Had Higher Risk of Another Event May 19, 2025 Spending too much time sitting after a heart scare could be deadly. New research shows that patients who were sedentary for more than 14 hours a day in the month after leaving the hospital had a ... Genetic Predisposition to Sedentary Behavior Increases the Risk of Cardiovascular Diseases Apr. 8, 2025 Although sedentary behavior may be an evolutionarily selected trait, it is still important to try to be physically active, says a new study. Researchers have shown for the first time that genetic ... Sitting Too Long Can Harm Heart Health, Even for Active People Nov. 15, 2024 More time spent sitting, reclining or lying down during the day may increase the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and death, according to a new study. More than roughly 10-and-a-half hours of ... The More You Walk, the Lower Your Risk of Early Death, Even If You Walk Fewer Than 5,000 Steps Aug. 8, 2023 The number of steps you should walk every day to start seeing benefits to your health is lower than previously thought, according to the largest analysis to investigate this. The study found that ... TRENDING AT SCITECHDAILY.com20-Year Study Finds Daily Multivitamins Don’t Extend Lifespan
Landmark Study Links Never Marrying to Significantly Higher Cancer Risk
Largest-Ever Study Finds Medicinal Cannabis Ineffective for Anxiety, Depression, PTSD
New Study Challenges 40-Year Puzzle About Childhood Body Fat
Схожі новини
'Ceasefire in the Middle East, especially in Lebanon, are meant to be broken', analyst says
У Львові внаслідок ДТП травмувалися троє дітей
UK seeks EU deals on steel and EVs in push for closer economic ties
