Why ‘Walking with Purpose’ Could Be Secret to Better Health

A large-scale study following adults who were less physically active (taking fewer than 8,000 steps each day) explored whether the way people take their steps, either in short bursts or longer walking sessions, affects their risk of dying from any cause or developing cardiovascular disease (CVD). The research aimed to determine if the pattern of movement matters independently of the total number of steps taken, the journal Annals of Internal Medicine reported.

Cardiovascular disease refers to a group of disorders that affect the heart and blood vessels, including coronary artery disease, heart failure, and stroke.

It remains the leading cause of death worldwide, with lifestyle factors such as physical inactivity, poor diet, and smoking playing major roles in its development. Because walking is one of the most common and accessible forms of physical activity, researchers are increasingly studying how walking patterns influence cardiovascular and overall health.

The analysis revealed that participants who tended to walk for longer, continuous periods experienced a lower likelihood of death and CVD compared with those who took most of their steps in short, brief intervals.

To conduct the study, scientists examined data from 33,560 adults enrolled in the UK Biobank, a long-term research project that tracks health and lifestyle information to uncover links between behavior and disease. The participants in this study were grouped according to how long their typical walking bouts lasted: less than 5 minutes, 5 to less than 10 minutes, 10 to less than 15 minutes, and 15 minutes or longer.

On average, participants took 5,165 steps per day. Nearly 43% of them accumulated most of their steps in bouts under 5 minutes, 33.5% in 5- to 10-minute bouts, 15.5% in 10- to 15-minute bouts, and 8.0% in walking sessions of at least 15 minutes.

The all-cause mortality risk at 9.5 years was 4.36% (95% CI, 3.52% to 5.19%) among participants who accumulated most of their steps in bouts shorter than 5 minutes, 1.83% (CI, 1.29% to 2.36%) for 5- to 10-minute bouts, 0.84% (CI, 0.13% to 1.53%) for 10- to 15-minute bouts, and 0.80% (CI, 0.00% to 1.89%) for 15-minute bouts or longer.

These risks were more pronounced for CVD, as participants who accumulated most of their steps in bouts shorter than 5 minutes had a cumulative risk for CVD at 9.5 years of 13.03% (CI, 11.92% to 14.14%), compared with 11.09% (CI, 9.88% to 12.29%) for 5- to 10-minute bouts, 7.71% (CI, 5.67% to 9.70%) for 10- to 15-minute bouts, and 4.39% (CI, 1.89% to 6.83%) for bouts of 15 minutes or longer. In sedentary participants (<5,000 steps per day), the researchers observed more pronounced associations between longer stepping bouts and lower risk of death and CVD.

These results can inform physical activity recommendations for individuals—particularly those who are otherwise sedentary or low-active—to incorporate longer, purposeful walking sessions into their daily routines to optimize health outcomes.

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