Walking 4,000 Steps per Day Cuts Mortality, Cardiovascular Risk Among Older Women: Study

One to two days of the activity in a week is enough to achieve significant health benefits, a peer-reviewed study found.

There are many benefits to walking regularly, from weight loss to lower blood pressure and blood sugar. Shutterstock

Older women who walk at least 4,000 steps per day a few times per week face lower mortality and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risks, according to an Oct. 21 peer-reviewed study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

The study analyzed data from the 1992–2004 Women’s Health Study (WHS), which examined nearly 40,000 women aged 45 and above in the United States. In a subsequent study conducted between 2011 and 2015, many of the women wore accelerometers for seven days to measure their physical activity (PA). These individuals were followed through Dec. 31, 2024, with their mortality and CVD incidence monitored.

Researchers in the Oct. 21 study looked at a data subset of 13,547 women who were free from CVD and cancer and who recorded their PA via the accelerometers. They had a mean age of 71.8 years.

The study found that women who walked at least 4,000 steps one to two days per week had “26 percent lower risk of dying and 27 percent lower risk of CVD, compared with those with no such days.” In addition, women who took the same amount of steps “three or more days per week had 40 percent and 27 percent lower risk” of dying and CVD, respectively.

“With higher step thresholds (5,000, 6,000 or 7,000), the risk of mortality declined further,” the study found. However, “for CVD, there was little additional decrement at higher step thresholds.”

The study was conducted by researchers from Harvard University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston.

According to the study, most adults walked 15,000 to 20,000 steps daily prior to industrialization. The advent of motorized transportation, desk jobs, and technologies that enable sedentary lifestyles pushed this down to 5,000 steps per day, especially among older people.

“Since lifelong PA stimulates repair and maintenance mechanisms, lack of PA with aging is a mismatch that increases vulnerability to disease and fails to slow aging,” it said.

Researchers said the number of steps taken per day was key to lowering mortality and CVD risks rather than the number of days a specific step threshold was achieved. A key implication of the study was that there is no “best” pattern to follow for older women when committing to walking.

“I hope our findings encourage the addition of step count metrics to physical activity guidelines, including the upcoming 2028 U.S. Physical Activity Guidelines,” the study’s lead author, Rikuta Hamaya of Harvard and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, said in an Oct. 22 report from The Harvard Gazette.

“If we can promote taking at least 4,000 steps once per week in older women, we could reduce mortality and cardiovascular disease risk across the country,” he said.

The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute. Study authors declared no competing interests.

Nearly 1 in 3 Older Americans Physically Inactive

According to recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), adults aged 65 and above need at least 150 minutes of aerobic physical activity at moderate intensity every week. Alternatively, these individuals can commit to 75 minutes of vigorous intensity activity or a mix of moderate and vigorous activity.

The CDC said older people must also engage in at least two days of activities to strengthen muscles and commit to activities that improve balance.

An April 2024 report from the CDC said many older adults in the United States do not meet these physical activity recommendations.

The CDC cited a 2016 study it conducted in which, among U.S. adults aged 50 and above, 28 percent were physically inactive. Moreover, inactivity was found to be 30 percent higher among people suffering from chronic diseases.

The immediate benefits of moderate to vigorous physical activity for adults aged 65 and above include better sleep quality, reduced feelings of anxiety, and lower blood pressure, the CDC said in a November 2024 report.

Long-term benefits include reduced risk of developing dementia, healthy weight, improved bone health, better balance and coordination, prevention of cancers, and a lower risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and stroke.