How Many Steps Should You Walk?

Regular physical activity can drop your risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and several forms of cancer. It can decrease the chance of premature death, something no medicine we offer can do as well. The advice I give to my patients every day is this: Moderate exercise (for example, a brisk walk at approximately three miles per hour), for 30 minutes at least five times weekly, can provide all of the benefits just mentioned.

Before we turn to the magic number of steps you need to walk to optimize your health, let’s examine some of the pros of physical activity. In a perfect world, I would ask you to have several components to your exercise regimen, including ones that improve aerobic fitness, strength, mobility, and balance.

Exercise can help you avoid too much weight gain. When you do physical activity, you burn calories — the more vigorous the movement, the more the calorie burn. While going to the gym can provide great value, I don’t always have time, to be honest. But I know that any activity is beneficial, even if it is merely a ten-minute walk.

There can be psychological benefits as well, as it appears to stimulate chemicals in our brain associated with happiness and lower levels of anxiety. Of course, there are potential self-esteem benefits as well when we stay in shape.