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Walking 9 800 Steps a Day May Cut Dementia Risk in Half

Faster pace even with fewer steps may also offer brain benefits research suggests

Westend61 / Getty Images Hitting that step goal on your smartwatch could have benefits beyond bragging rights or a good calorie burn. A finds that older adults who got in just under 10,000 steps a day — 9,800, to be exact — were 50 percent less likely to develop dementia. Even those who racked up 3,800 daily steps saw a 25 percent reduction in risk. The findings, published in JAMA Neurology, add to a growing body of evidence that physical activity is just as important for the brain as it is for the body, and that more accessible exercises, , may be able to get the job done. Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. “I think this reinforces recommendations that we can make to people that walking, in and of itself — and brisk walking, preferably — is likely to be beneficial,” says Ron Petersen, M.D., director of the Mayo Clinic Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and the Mayo Clinic Study of Aging, who was not involved in this latest research. For the observational study, a team of researchers from the University of Sydney in Australia and the University of Southern Denmark monitored the daily step count of 78,430 adults ages 40 to 79 who were enrolled in the UK Biobank study and who wore an accelerometer on their wrist to measure their physical activity. After a seven-year follow-up period, the researchers discovered that a higher number of steps per day was associated with a lower risk of . They also discovered that speed matters. In fact, walking at a faster pace resulted in benefits “above and beyond” the number of steps achieved, the study authors noted in a news release. “It'd be great if we can all get close to 10,000 steps, but that’s a quite a lot,” says Makoto Ishii, M.D., a neurologist at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City. According to the Mayo Clinic, most Americans take between 3,000 and 4,000 steps a day. “But maybe if we can increase the rate and make it this very purposeful kind of power walking for shorter time periods even, that might be even more beneficial,” Ishii adds. A , conducted by the same group of researchers and published Sept. 12 in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine , found that walking — and likewise, faster walking — was also associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer and death. Health & Wellness Access AARP health Smart Guides, articles & special content See more Health & Wellness offers > About 19 percent of Americans say they use a or mobile health app to keep track of their physical activity, a 2019 Gallup poll found. A 2020 report from Pew Research came to a similar conclusion: About 21 percent of adults regularly wear a smartwatch or wearable fitness tracker. “It’s really a great resource that these investigators have utilized,” Ishii says. “It’s applicable to real life. These are step counts, things that anyone with a smartphone or a smartwatch or pedometer could easily [track].” Current public health guidelines, including by AARP’s Global Council on Brain Health (GCBH), say that older adults should move as much as they can throughout the day and aim for 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity physical activity (such as brisk walking), plus a few days of strength training. Still, nearly half of adults 45 and older aren’t meeting the recommendations, according to a 2019 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). “I think that this [latest study] is supportive of many of the recommendations that have been out there,” says Petersen, who serves on the GCBH governance committee. “But this lends some hard data to getting out there and walking and engaging in a regular pattern of walking.” He cautions that people with certain heart or respiratory conditions should check in with their doctor before starting an exercise program. The study evaluated a large number of people in midlife as well as later life — the average age was 61 — over a relatively long period of time. “The researchers are helping to establish what the right ‘dose’ of exercise might be, answering questions the GCBH raised about the duration and intensity of exercise needed to show results in midlife,” said Sarah Lenz Lock, AARP’s senior vice president for policy and brain health and executive director of GCBH. AARP NEWSLETTERS %{ newsLetterPromoText }% %{ description }% Subscribe and reduce , the CDC says, both of which can influence the health of your brain. It can also reduce inflammation, which may play a role in the development of dementia, and improve blood flow to the brain, the Cleveland Clinic notes. What’s more, researchers have linked exercise to improved brain structure, including increased thickness of the cerebral cortex, the part of the brain responsible for thinking, language and memory. For all these reasons, physical activity makes the list of so-called for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, along with controlling high blood pressure, correcting hearing loss, avoiding smoking, nixing and maintaining a healthy weight, among others. More than 6.5 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s — a number that is expected to nearly double by 2050. Meanwhile, effective medications that can help prevent or treat the disease remain elusive. Rachel Nania writes about health care and health policy for AARP. Previously she was a reporter and editor for WTOP Radio in Washington, D.C. A recipient of a Gracie Award and a regional Edward R. Murrow Award, she also participated in a dementia fellowship with the National Press Foundation. 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