Do you sometimes find yourself walking an extra loop of your living room or backyard before bedtime just to tick over 10,000 daily steps on your smartwatch?

If so, the good news is that new research provides fresh evidence suggesting a lower step count can still help you live longer – especially if you walk faster.

“We found that the risk [of early death] was substantially lower among those achieving a higher stepping pace but fewer than 5000 daily steps,” lead author Professor Emmanuel Stamatakis said of the Monash University and University of Sydney study.

“Similarly, the risk of early death was substantially reduced among those clocking up 5000 to 7500 daily steps but at a lower stepping pace.”

The research, published this week in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, analysed data from 64,743 middle-aged participants in the UK Biobank who wore an activity tracker for seven consecutive days between 2013 and 2015.

Stamatakis, director of the Monash University’s BrainPark research facility, said the findings may be especially helpful for people who were not able to walk more steps due to lack of time, disability, age or other reasons.

“Our findings contribute to the evidence base for step-based approaches targeting daily step counts and stepping intensity to lower mortality risk, and may inform step-based interventions for middle-aged and older adults, particularly individuals with barriers to increasing daily step counts or stepping intensity,” he added.

The popular idea that people need to take at least 10,000 steps a day for better health originated from a pedometer campaign launched in Japan in the lead-up to the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.

It was revised in the early 2000s and became something of a benchmark for the health-conscious after wearable fitness devices took off.

Yet while it’s widely agreed that walking can improve fitness and overall health outcomes, the 10,000-steps concept has been criticised for being based on an arbitrary rather than evidence-based figure.

In 2018, the late British TV presenter and doctor Michael Mosley conducted an experiment dubbed the “Active 10”, which found volunteers doing three brisk 10-minute walks a day achieved similar or greater benefits than those doing 10,000 steps.

Other studies published in recent years have found that taking at least 7000 steps a day can help reduce people’s risk of premature death.

Wearable fitness devices have increased the focus on step counts. Photo: Pexels

Nicholas Koemel, co-author of the latest research, said it did not support the theory that everyone must take at least 10,000 steps a day to get fit.

“For a 65-year-old managing a knee issue, a carer with fragmented time, or a shift worker, a high step target can be a reason to give up rather than a reason to start,” Koemel said.

“The important message is that every step counts, and how you take those steps can also matter.

“Someone walking 4000 steps a day who walks them with more purpose is doing something worthwhile, and someone who cannot walk quickly can still benefit by gradually accumulating more steps at a slower pace.”

For those wondering what qualifies as a brisk walking pace, the researchers looked at the average steps per minute that participants took during the highest intensity 30 minutes of the day.

Those who took fewer than 5000 steps but walked at a pace of at least 80 steps a minute for at least 30 minutes, for example, had a lower risk of premature death.

When it comes to applying the findings to your own life, study co-author Associate Professor Matthew Ahmadi said the main focus should be on consistency – maintaining regular walking patterns on most days over months and years.

“There is no single pace that suits everyone,” he said.

“A speed that feels very comfortable to a fit walker in their forties may be maximal intensity for a 70-year-old.

“The most practical test is also the simplest, which is to pay attention to your breathing. At a brisk pace that is maintained for at least a minute or so you should be breathing noticeably harder, feeling warmer, and still able to hold a conversation in short sentences, but you should not be able to sing comfortably.”