Walking 10,000 steps a day? You are on the right path! But you can enjoy more benefits if you walk at a faster pace according to new research. 

In studies published in the journals JAMA Neurology, and JAMA Internal Medicine, 9800 steps a day was the optimum number that could lower the risk of dementia by as much as 50% while 3,800 steps a day could lower its risk by 25%.

However, the key finding was that the higher the pace of walking the lower the risk of mortality, cancer, and cardiovascular diseases.

“The take-home message here is that for protective health benefits people could not only ideally aim for 10,000 steps a day but also aim to walk faster”, said Dr. Matthew Ahmadi, co-lead author of both the studies, in the statement by the University of Sydney. 

The studies, conducted on around 78,500 people, aged between 40 and 79 years, with wrist accelerometers on them, are the most robust evidence to date on the health benefits of taking 10,000 steps a day and walking faster. 

“Step count is easily understood and widely used by the public to track activity levels thanks to the growing popularity of fitness trackers and apps, but rarely do people think about the pace of their steps,” concludes senior author Emmanuel Stamatakis, Professor of Physical Activity, Lifestyle and Population Health at the University of Sydney.