3000 Extra Steps a Day

The National Campaign for Walking. A comprehensive and official source of information and advice on the benefits of walking. Links to official partner organisations providing professional information and free services. Reviews of the best books, equipment and clothing to assist you in all your walking needs. Advice and information from Sir Muir Gray and his Walking Cure. Find out about The Campaign for Walking's aim: to get the nation walking an extra 3000 steps a day.

Mortality and walking

Walking more can bring substantial benefit to health. This benefit is quantified by comparing the risk of specific diseases between people who walk with people who don’t walk. There is a clear dose-response relationship between walking and all-cause mortality9. A physical activity energy expenditure of 500-1,000 kcals per week (about 6-12 miles of walking for an average-weight individual, compatible with the current physical activity recommendations for adults) reduces the risk of premature death by 20-30%ii.  

From a public health perspective, helping people to move from a low level of walking to increasing walking levels will produce the greatest reduction in risk. These considerable health benefits hold for both women and men and are evident even up to the age of 80 years. The reduction in relative risk of mortality for adults walking more than 12.4 miles per week compared to adults who walked less than 3 miles per week is 16%10.

Regular walking across the life course (from childhood to old age) will reduce risk of disease and pre-mature deathi. Figure 7 shows the difference in risk between an active / regular walker and less active / non-walker. The top line (unhealthy non-walker) shows the negative and cumulative effects of inactivity, low fitness and a higher risk of premature illness across the life course.

Figure 7: Risk of disease throughout the life course among walkers and non-walkers
 

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Prevention of diseases and risk factors for disease

 

Walking reduces the risk of many diseases.  

The benefits of physical activity can be gained from activities that can be incorporated into everyday life, such as regular brisk walking…Physical activity does not need to be vigorous to confer protectioniv  

Chief Medical Officer 2004 - CMO Report, page 38

Figure 8 represents this.
 
 
 

Figure 8: Schematic representation of the dose-response relationship between walking and physical activity level and risk of diseaseii

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