You probably know the feeling. Your fitness tracker buzzes at the end of the day. You are still a few thousand steps short of the target, and the only way to hit it is a long walk you may not have time for.
For many people, 10,000 steps a day is simply not realistic. A new analysis of nearly 65,000 UK adults points to another path. Walking briskly for about 30 minutes a day was linked to similar drops in death risk as taking many more steps at a slower pace.
The findings were published in September 2026 in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. A team led by researchers at the University of Sydney drew on activity-tracker data from 64,743 UK Biobank participants followed for about eight years.
Brisk pace matched a higher step count
The researchers sorted days by total steps and by walking cadence, the number of steps per minute. Over the follow-up, 1,697 people died, including 502 from cardiovascular disease.
Also read: What sitting for hours every day quietly does to your spine and posture
People who logged fewer than 5,000 daily steps but kept a brisk cadence of at least 90 steps per minute had substantially lower death risk. The risk reduction looked similar to what the researchers saw in people who took 5,000 to 7,500 steps a day at a slower pace.
The lowest overall risk turned up in people who hit 7,500 to 10,000 steps a day at close to 100 steps per minute. The practical message was that pace and volume can trade off against each other.
What brisk walking actually feels like
The study defined a brisk pace as roughly 90 to 100 steps per minute. That is faster than a casual stroll, but short of a jog.
The CDC offers a simple rule of thumb. During moderate-intensity activity, you can still talk, but not sing. If you can hold a conversation but cannot comfortably belt out a song, you are probably in the right zone.
Also read: What sitting for hours every day quietly does to your spine and posture
Dr. Nicholas Koemel of Monash University, one of the study's authors, said there is no single step target that works for everyone. He added that building habits around a faster walking pace may especially help people who feel short on time.
What the study cannot prove
The analysis was observational. It can show a link between walking pace and a longer life, but it cannot prove faster walking directly caused the lower risk. People who already walk briskly may simply be healthier to begin with.
Participants also wore the wrist trackers for only a week, which may not reflect long-term habits. Still, the pattern lines up with earlier work. A recent review has already punctured the idea that 10,000 steps is a magic number for everyone.
The federal physical activity guidelines call for at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity, such as brisk walking, each week. That works out to about 30 minutes on five days, close to the daily brisk block that stood out in the new study.
Also read: Where your brain sits inside your skull may quietly shape your Alzheimer's risk
Also read: Beyond the Bullseye: 12 Lyme Disease Symptoms the CDC Says to Watch For
This article is made and published by Aksel Kryhlmand, who may have used AI in the preparation.