Sept. 8, 2025 – A hundred here. A thousand there. No matter how many – or how few – steps you take, there's probably a study linking some health outcome to your daily total.
The latest one, published last month, told us just 7,000 steps daily reduces the risk of early death by 47%. A January study identified 8,250 steps as the sweet spot for people with high blood pressure, while other research suggests 2,500 steps can reduce the risk of dying from heart disease, 6,000 steps can lower type 2 diabetes risk in older women, and 9,800 steps may cut dementia risk in older adults.
"I sometimes get frustrated with just more and more studies when we're not getting more people actually walking," said David Sabgir, MD, an Ohio-based cardiologist who founded Walk With a Doc, a walking club with 620 chapters worldwide. Three out of four adults don't meet the recommended 150 minutes of weekly aerobic activity – the equivalent of about 13,500 to 17,000 brisk steps, depending on your stride length. "I'm sure there's a lot more to be unearthed about the benefits of walking, but there are already so many [known benefits] right now." The organization's website lists 100 of them, and Sabgir says there are dozens more.
In studies, tying those benefits to step counts offers a simple, quantifiable goal – and it keeps people honest. The hard data from fitness trackers helps avoid the problem of self-reporting bias (people overestimating how much they've walked).
But in the real world, the approach can backfire for those who are unmotivated – or even deterred – by step counting, experts say. If that's you, you may want to look to another, lesser-known area of walking research – one based on a framework that reflects how all these walking studies began in the first place.
The Original Walking Study
Maybe your doctor has told you: "movement is medicine." It's a common phrase these days, often followed by tips to choose the parking spot that's farthest away or to get up from your desk every hour and take a lap around the hall.
Back in the 1950s, this was a surprising concept.
The first major study to look at physical activity as a way to address chronic health conditions was the London Bus Conductor Study, said Glen Duncan, PhD, a professor and chair of the Department of Nutrition and Exercise Physiology at Washington State University in Spokane.
Sir Jeremy Morris, MD, compared heart disease rates among London double-decker bus conductors and drivers. Morris is widely considered the first scientist to link exercise with health benefits for your heart and blood vessels.
"The conductors had to essentially walk up and down the steps and through the bus to collect tickets throughout their shift. And the drivers just sat on their butts all day," Duncan said.
Morris compared activity levels, leveraged a science of the time called the epidemiology of uniforms (a crude precursor to body mass index), and measured waist circumference.
"He showed, quite nicely, that physical activity – in this case, on the job – was reducing chronic disease. Specifically, heart disease," said Duncan, whose own research focuses on how changing what he calls the "built environment" (like the design of cities) impacts health on a population level, by helping people live unintentionally in healthier ways.
Morris – who lived to 99½ years (his New York Times obituary noted that he was a stickler about including half-years when tallying his age) – was honored at the 1996 Olympics with a gold medal for his scientific work.
Since then, the number of walking studies has exploded. The problem is, health experts say, there are still so many people who would benefit from walking more who aren't doing it. And another study heralding the elixir of a few more steps isn't likely to inspire a new march. So some doctors and scientists are looking for new, untrodden paths.
Not an 'Exercise Person'?
Maybe counting steps or getting a badge on a fitness app isn't your thing. You're not alone. There's a whole area of walking research devoted to finding ways to build more walking into daily life so you naturally walk more without trying. Call it "unintentional walking."
It's a major mindset shift from step counting, and potentially a more effective strategy. In technical terms, if you're not up for what health experts call "behavioral change" like counting steps and calories, then you have another option – lifestyle change. Behavioral changes are small and goal-oriented, while lifestyle change is more holistic; it usually involves broader behaviors fueled by your attitude and beliefs. ("I walk everywhere that I can instead of driving" or "I picked this place to live because I can walk to work, school, or the grocery store.")
"The messaging we have around activity and diet really falls short, and I think the reason is we keep focusing on behavior change," said Duncan, who has studied differences in health outcomes among twins living in different communities due to the communities' impacts on lifestyle and physical activity.
What's happened, Duncan said, is that many places where people live in the U.S. make physical activity "not natural."
"You have to go to a gym. You have to ride the elevator or escalator. You have to go to the grocery store with your car. You don't rake the leaves in your yard, you use a leaf blower. You don't vacuum your house, you have a robot vacuum," he said. "We've just systematically phased activity out of daily life."
Not everyone can just move to a neighborhood full of beautiful tree-lined sidewalks and spend an hour or two strolling and admiring the sunset. But there's always something you can add to your daily routine to increase movement. You may have to be intentional about your unintentional walking – at least at the beginning.
"We need to think big. We need to re-envision the world in which we live so that behavior change actually has a chance of working," Duncan said.
Sabgir, the Ohio cardiologist, was also finding that his activity and diet tips for patients weren't getting results. After hearing the reasons from thousands of patients throughout his career about why they didn't walk the way he advised them to (the weather being too cold or too hot were common reports), he changed tactics.
"I wanted to be somewhat confrontational and make it real. I wanted them to have to say 'no' to my face," he said.
He told them he'd be at the park at 8:30 a.m. Saturday morning and he'd like to walk with them. That was in 2005. Now, thousands of people walk together as part of the walking clubs, which are always attended by a doctor or medical student.
The people who repeatedly show up typically don't want to talk about metrics, Sabgir said.
"They want to talk about their kids. I want to hear about where they're going on vacation, what books they're reading," he said. "All of a sudden, you're three miles in and you just feel great."
Walking is "really underutilized," said psychologist Susan Albers, PsyD, a mindfulness, eating, and body image expert who helps her clients find "habit stacking" routines to add walking to daily life. The reason it's so widely studied is because pretty much anyone can do it, anywhere. And for some of Albers's clients, targeting a specific step count does help motivate them.
But if that's not the case for you, here are some non-step-count approaches to consider. Doing them takes effort up front, but the more you do it, the easier it gets, said Albers.
- Make plans. Research consistently shows that connecting with others can help you be more active. Plan regular walks with a friend or family member, or join a walking club or virtual walking community. Sabgir suggests finding a message that resonates with you, and social media is a great place to look – maybe you follow the affirmation-focused Hot Girl Walk, or silent walking keeps popping up in your feed.
- Take a new route. Scour Google Maps around places you often go, Duncan suggests. Maybe there's a park near your favorite coffee shop or workplace, or a scenic walking trail near your destination you could take by parking farther away.
- Sign up for a 5K. Many of Albers's clients have been successful with the Couch to 5K program (and it's OK to walk the 5K, she notes). There's always a 5K coming up nearby, so you can keep walking toward your next event.
- Switch your hangout. Duncan's research on twin siblings showed that in adulthood, those who spent more time in "walkable" neighborhoods were more likely to walk 20 extra minutes per week. Think about where you go on a regular basis – work, shopping, leisure – and then use this walkability map to see if you can get to those places on foot. Just being in a more "walkable" area is likely to help you get more steps in. And if you can make bigger changes, like where you work or live, the impact can be more significant – people who moved to New York City from less walkable places averaged an increase of 1,400 steps per day.
- Ask someone to call you to talk about walking. In research, people who had weekly telephone prompts or phone counseling sessions to discuss walking goals had better outcomes than those without the phone calls.
- Get back to basics. Take the stairs, park far away, go for a walk after dinner, stand up from your desk during the day and take a lap, do chores or yardwork, or turn up the volume on your favorite song and dance.
- Try mindful walking. Here's an exercise to try that Albers gives to her clients: Put your to-do list aside and be present. What do you hear? What do you smell? "The one that is most powerful for people when they're mindful walking is noticing how their feet are touching the ground," she said. "Are you stomping? Are you lightly walking? Are you walking really fast? If you pay attention to these things, it shifts you out of that ruminative mode and into your body."
