Live longer: Doctors reveal exact number of steps you need to do a day to slash your risk of death

According to the latest study, the sweet spot is up to 10,000 steps, which experts say can reduce your risk of heart disease and early death.

These benefits also extend to people who spend most of their day sitting down, suggesting that walking can offset the harms posed by a sedentary lifestyle.

The study, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, found that every extra step above 2,200 steps per day – up to around 10,000 – cut the risk of heart disease and early death, regardless of how much of the remaining time is spent sitting.

Walkers who logged 9,700 steps a day had the lowest risk of stroke and heart attack.

For the study, experts led by the University of Sydney used UK Biobank data from 72,174 people who were aged around 61.

They all wore an accelerometer device on their wrist for seven days to measure exercise levels.

Over almost seven years of follow-up, 1,633 deaths were recorded and 6,190 cardiovascular events happened, such as heart attack or stroke.

The results showed that any number of daily steps above 2,200 per day lowered the risk of death and heart disease regardless of time spent being sedentary but the benefits increased the more steps people took.

Overall, taking 9,000 to 10,500 steps per day cut the risk of early death by 39 percent and the risk of a heart attack or stroke by 21 percent.

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The new study builds on previous research that suggests even a short stroll can extend your lifespan.

Walking a mere 11 minutes every day could slash your risk of premature death by almost 25 percent, according to the largest study to date on on physical activity, disease risk and mortality.

The landmark study, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine last year, analysed the health data of more than 30 million people, looking for correlations between how much people move and how long and well they live.

How does walking help?

Walking is simple, free and one of the easiest ways to get more active, lose weight and become healthier.
Sometimes overlooked as a form of exercise, walking briskly can help you build stamina, burn excess calories and make your heart healthier.

A brisk 10-minute daily walk has lots of health benefits and counts towards your 150 minutes of weekly exercise, as recommended in the physical activity guidelines for adults aged 19 to 64.