The exact number of steps you need to take each day to live longer – and it’s fewer than you think

According to a study, walking just 4,000 steps a day is enough to reduce the risk of early death.

That means people who don’t hit the popular goal of 10,000 a day can still get a health boost.

1

Scientists from the Lodz Medical University in Poland analyzed data from almost 227,000 people.

They found that the more you walk, the greater the benefits—with no clear upper limit.

The risk of heart disease started to decrease after just 2,337 steps a day, which could have taken as little as 25 minutes.

A “significant” reduction in the risk of dying young began after walking 3,967 daily steps — about 40 minutes — the researchers said.

For every 1,000 additional steps, it fell by another 15 percent.

Those over 60 had a 42 percent lower risk if they walked between 6,000 and 10,000 steps a day compared to those who didn’t walk.

Professor Maciej Banach said: “Our study confirms that the more you run, the better.

“We found this to be true for both men and women, regardless of age.

“It takes as little as 4,000 steps a day to significantly reduce deaths from all causes, and fewer still to reduce deaths from cardiovascular disease.”

According to the World Health Organization, a lazy lifestyle is one of the leading causes of death.

Insufficient exercise has been linked to a higher risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, cancer and dementia.

The study, published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, analyzed 17 previous studies.

Those involved took up to 20,000 steps a day and their risk of death was still declining.

dr Banach added, “The analysis also found that we don’t need as many steps to achieve health benefits, which undermines the definition of a sedentary life.”