I don't consider walking to be exercise, or I should say part of my exercise program, but it is a big part of my day. We have long heard that 10,000 steps a day was needed for good health. That was a marketing ploy by a Japanese company that made one of the first pedometers. But now there is actual scientific research that shows the benefits of various levels of walking on health.
This considers only walking on mortality. Not other types of exercise.
Details and research at the link.
Walk More, Live Longer: What The Latest Research Says About Daily Step Count And All-Cause Mortality
PART I: 60-SECOND SUMMARY
1. 5,000 steps a day or less is considered sedentary and unhealthy. 10,000 steps a day is a common recommended physical activity goal. However, there's still uncertainty about the ideal daily step count for promoting better health and longer life because 10,000 steps a day was not originally an evidence-based guideline.
2. A recent meta-analysis (Jayedi et al, 2022) examined the relationship between daily steps taken and all-cause mortality.
3. The researchers reviewed all previous studies that measured the relationship between step count and all-cause mortality. They selected seven cohort studies that met their inclusion criteria.
4. The group analyzed included 28,141 participants and 2310 deaths with a total of 175,370 person-years.
5. The results showed a strong inverse association between step count and all-cause mortality and the risk of death decreased in a linear fashion from 2,700 all the way up to 16,000 steps per day.
6. Specifically, walking 16,000 steps per day reduced all-cause mortality risk by 66% compared to 2,700 steps per day.
7. The certainty of the evidence was considered strong.
8. This research does not mean that everyone should aim for 16,000 steps per day which is extremely highly active and an unrealistic goal for most people. However it does suggest that there may be additional health benefits and reduced risk of death even beyond 10,000 steps per day.
9. This study also confirmed that among sedentary individuals walking as little as 2,700 steps per day, any increase in daily step count is associated with a lower risk of death. 10,000 steps a day or even more may be a good goal for many people but substantial health benefits can be achieved with less than 10,000 steps a day.
10. The researchers said that this data can be used to develop simple, efficient and easy to understand public health messages. One message is that that up to a point, more steps are better. One should keep in mind however, that even a modest increase in steps per day is associated with a lower risk of death, and perhaps the most important message is to avoid being sedentary (less than 5,000 steps per day).