Two big walks a week better for you than daily, shorter, strolls, find scientists
Taking just two 40-minute walks a week can cut women’s risk of heart attacks and stroke by more than a quarter, according to a new study.
A team from Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital tracked weekly step counts of more than 13,000 women with an average age of 71.
They also found there was no additional heart health benefit to walking more frequently, or for longer.
Lead author Dr Rikuta Hamaya said that the findings show that for older women, the quantity of steps they take per week is more important than the frequency.
It means that taking one to three ‘big walks’ can be more beneficial than focusing on daily step counts.
She said: ‘There is no “better” or “best” pattern to take steps… “bunching” steps is a viable option for health.’
The research, published today in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, found that reaching at least 4,000 daily steps once or twice a week was associated with a 26 per cent lower risk of death when compared to women who did not.
They looked at data collected by fitness trackers over a period of seven consecutive days between 2011–2015.
None of the women had cancer or cardiovascular disease (CVD) at the start of the study.
During the monitoring period of nearly 11 years, up to the end of 2024, 1,765 women (13 per cent) died and 781 (5 per cent) developed CVD.
A walk or two a week of roughly 40-minutes had huge benefits for older women
Taking one to two 4,000-step walks—which works out as approximately a 40-minute walk—was linked with a 27 per cent lower risk of a CVD death when compared with not reaching this threshold on any day in a week.
Walking 4,000 steps three times a week lowered the risk of death from any cause from 27 per cent to 40 per cent. However, the risk of a CVD death remained at 27 per cent.
Higher daily step counts of 5,000 to 7,000 steps on three or more days of the week were associated with a further fall in the risk of death from any cause (32 per cent) but didn’t have a substantial affect on CVD-related deaths.
CVD is a general term used to refer to conditions which affect the heart or blood vessels, including coronary heart disease, heart failure, and stroke.
Risk factors include high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, smoking, and irregular heartbeat.
According to the British Heart Foundation, more than 7.6 million people in the UK have CVD, and the condition is responsible for about one in four premature deaths in people aged under 75.
The study concluded that doctors should recommend older women aim for 4,000 steps per day, even if only once or twice a week.
However, there were several noteworthy limitations with this study.
Firstly, it was purely observational, meaning that no firm conclusions can be drawn about cause and effect.
The researchers also acknowledged that physical activity was assessed only for one week out of the 11 year observational period, so it was impossible to be aware of variations of behaviour or the subjects’ dietary habits which could also lead to a potentially longer lifespan.
Walking has long been linked to better health and ageing, with the figure of 10,000 steps a day touted as the ultimate goal.
Last month, Australian researchers from the University of Sydney found that walking just 7,000 steps a day provides almost identical benefits to 10,000—and can help slash your risk of death, dementia and heart disease.
The study found that walking 7,000 steps a day slashed the risk of dying prematurely by 47 per cent, almost identical to the benefits of hitting those higher amounts.
