• READ MORE: Experts reveal If you TRULY require walking 10,000 steps each day

Achieving a minimum of 10,000 steps daily has traditionally been seen as the benchmark for physical activity.

A study indicates that concentrating on the duration of your exercise rather than the number of steps taken might be equally effective for improving health outcomes. weight loss , increased lifespan and a lower chance of developing heart diseases.

Scientists from Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston examined four years of data covering approximately 15,000 women who were more than 62 years old.

Every participant used a fitness tracker to monitor their activity levels and completed health questionnaires annually.

The group discovered that individuals who took between 8,000 and 8,500 steps each day lowered their chance of developing heart disease by 40%, in contrast to those taking about 3,000 steps daily.

Furthermore, they discovered that the same level of reduced risk applied to individuals who exercised for 75 minutes daily, indicating that tracking steps might not be necessary.

This study is among numerous recent publications addressing similar issues. debunk the 10,000-step rule , according to some experts, there isn't a single 'magical' figure when it comes to exercise routines.

Dr. Rikita Hamaya, who led the research and works as a scientist at the Division of Preventative Medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital, stated, "For many people, particularly those who are younger, exercises such as playing tennis, football, going for walks, or running can often be monitored through step counts."

'Though, for some individuals, activities like cycling or swimming might be more appropriate, as these exercises make it easier to track the length of workouts. Therefore, it’s crucial for physical activity recommendations to provide various methods to achieve one’s fitness objectives.'

'Everyone expresses movement differently, and almost every type of movement contributes positively to our well-being.'

The group enrolled 14,399 women above the age of 62 who were deemed 'healthy,' which means they had neither heart disease nor cancer. On average, participants were 72 years old.

From 2011 to 2015, every woman was instructed to keep a fitness tracker attached to her waist continuously, even when asleep or bathing.

Every year, the researchers distributed surveys covering aspects such as health practices including smoking and alcohol consumption, along with measurements of height and weight, details about menopause status, and records of both individual and familial medical backgrounds.

These were utilized to assess the participants' likelihood of developing heart disease and facing mortality.

The team continued following up with the women throughout 2022.

Participants averaged about 62 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity each week and accumulated approximately 5,183 steps daily. As of 2022, nine percent of them had passed away and four percent were diagnosed with heart disease.

The women were grouped into percentiles according to the total minutes they spent exercising or the count of steps they took.

The research team discovered that individuals who exercised for approximately 200 minutes or more each day, as well as those who accumulated around 8,000 to 8,500 steps, decreased their likelihood of developing heart disease and dying prematurely by up to 40% when contrasted with people in the bottom tier, who logged only nine to twelve minutes of physical activity daily or roughly 2,800 to 3,000 steps.

The research indicates that patients have the option to select either a step-based approach or a timed-goal strategy to reduce their chances of mortality or cardiovascular illness, according to the researchers.

These findings bolster the argument for incorporating both time-dependent and steps-based criteria into upcoming physical activity recommendations, providing people with the option to select and monitor their favored measure of engagement.

Therefore, healthcare providers might suggest that women aged 60 or above can adopt either time-based or step-based objectives, based on personal preference, to track their physical activity levels.

The study had multiple constraints, primarily due to the participants mostly consisting of white individuals from a higher economic background. Furthermore, since the research was observational, these findings lack confirmation.

The research was published on Monday in JAMA Internal Medicine .

Read more