Led by Professor Melody Ding from the School of Public Health , the study was published in The Lancet Public Health and analysed data from 57 studies from 2014 to 2025 that were conducted in more than ten countries including Australia, USA, UK and Japan.
The largest and most comprehensive review to date, the researchers examined the impact that different daily step counts have on the chance of dying from cardiovascular disease and cancer, and developing diseases such as cancer, type 2 diabetes, dementia, and depression.
Professor Ding says the findings offer a more achievable benchmark for people who struggle to meet traditional exercise guidelines.
"Aiming for 7000 steps is a realistic goal based on our findings, which assessed health outcomes in a range of areas that hadn't been looked at before," said Professor Ding.
"However, for those who cannot yet achieve 7000 steps a day, even small increases in step counts, such as increasing from 2000 to 4000 steps a day, are associated with significant health gain.
"We know daily step count is linked to living longer, but we now also have evidence that walking at least 7000 steps a day can significantly improve eight major health outcomes - including reducing risk of cardiovascular disease, dementia and depressive symptoms."