A major study using UK Biobank data has found that people who take their daily steps in longer, uninterrupted sessions enjoy far better health outcomes than those who accumulate steps in quick bursts throughout the day.
The research, published in Annals of Internal Medicine, looked specifically at adults who weren’t particularly active – those walking fewer than 8,000 steps daily.
It transpired that people who walked for 15 minutes or more at a time faced considerably lower risks of dying from any cause and developing heart disease compared to those whose steps came in sessions of under five minutes.
The study tracked 33,560 adults from the UK Biobank, all averaging 8,000 steps or fewer each day. The typical participant clocked around 5,165 steps daily.
A proper 15-minute stroll could make a real difference
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GETTY
Researchers split people into groups based on how long their walking sessions typically lasted – anything from under five minutes right up to 15 minutes or longer.
Nearly half of the participants, about 43 per cent, got most of their steps in those quick bursts lasting under five minutes.
A third walked mainly in five to ten-minute sessions, while roughly 16 per cent preferred ten to fifteen-minute strolls. Only 8 per cent regularly walked for 15 minutes or more at a stretch.
Over 9.5 years of follow-up, those walking in short bursts under five minutes had a mortality risk of 4.36 per cent. That dropped dramatically to just 1.83 per cent for people walking five to ten minutes at a time.
For those managing ten to fifteen-minute sessions, the risk fell to 0.84 per cent. And the 15-minute-plus crowd? Their mortality risk sat at just 0.80 per cent.
Heart disease showed an even clearer pattern. Short-burst walkers faced a 13.03 per cent cardiovascular disease risk after 9.5 years.
Those walking five to ten minutes saw 11.09 per cent, while the ten to fifteen-minute group came in at 7.71 per cent.
The 15-minute walkers had the lowest risk at 4.39 per cent.
The benefits were even more pronounced for the least active participants. Among those taking fewer than 5,000 steps daily, walking in longer sessions showed an even stronger link to reduced death and heart disease risk.
Walking for 15 minutes or more could considerably lower your risk of dying from any cause
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GETTYIt’s brilliant news for people who struggle to hit popular step count targets. The research suggests that focusing on longer, more deliberate walks could boost health outcomes without needing to rack up more total steps.
For anyone who’s otherwise fairly sedentary, swapping those scattered short walks for a proper 15-minute stroll could make a real difference – no need to obsess over hitting 10,000 steps after all.
