Getting steps in one long walk a day cuts risk of death and CVD better than multiple short walks

A prospective population-based cohort study of suboptimally active adults (<8,000 steps per day) assessed whether individuals who accumulate their daily steps in shorter or longer bouts are at greater risk for all-cause mortality and cardiovascular disease (CVD), regardless of the total number of steps taken. The study found that those who accumulate their daily steps in longer bouts had a lower risk for mortality and CVD than those taking steps in shorter bouts. The findings are published in Annals of Internal Medicine.

Researchers studied data from 33,560 adults in the UK Biobank who engaged in 8000 or fewer daily steps. Participants were grouped into four categories based on their step accumulation patterns: shorter than 5 minutes, 5 to shorter than 10 minutes, 10 to shorter than 15 minutes, and 15 minutes or longer. Participants had a median of 5,165 steps per day, and 42.9% of participants accumulated most of their daily steps in bouts lasting less than 5 minutes, whereas 33.5% accumulated most of their daily steps in 5- to 10-minute bouts, 15.5% in 10- to 15-minute bouts, and 8.0% in 15-minute bouts or longer. The all-cause mortality risk at 9.5 years was 4.36% (95% CI, 3.52% to 5.19%) among participants who accumulated most of their steps in bouts shorter than 5 minutes, 1.83% (CI, 1.29% to 2.36%) for 5- to 10-minute bouts, 0.84% (CI, 0.13% to 1.53%) for 10- to 15-minute bouts, and 0.80% (CI, 0.00% to 1.89%) for 15-minute bouts or longer. These risks were more pronounced for CVD, as participants who accumulated most of their steps in bouts shorter than 5 minutes had a cumulative risk for CVD at 9.5 years of 13.03% (CI, 11.92% to 14.14%), compared with 11.09% (CI, 9.88% to 12.29%) for 5- to 10-minute bouts, 7.71% (CI, 5.67% to 9.70%) for 10- to 15-minute bouts, and 4.39% (CI, 1.89% to 6.83%) for bouts of 15 minutes or longer. In sedentary participants (<5,000 steps per day), the researchers observed more pronounced associations between longer stepping bouts and lower risk of death and CVD. These results can inform physical activity recommendations for individuals—particularly those who are otherwise sedentary or low-active—to incorporate longer, purposeful walking sessions into their daily routines to optimize health outcomes.