Walk Further or Walk Faster? What a New UK Study Says About Living Longer

Should you walk further or walk faster? According to a large new study of 64,743 UK adults, both help: walking more steps and walking at a brisker pace were each linked to a lower risk of early death, and a quicker pace appeared to make up for a lower step count. The research was published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine on 8 September 2026 and reported by Harvard Health on 2 October.

That is genuinely useful news if you struggle to fit in 10,000 steps. Below we break down what the researchers found, what they could not prove, what ‘brisk’ really means, and a simple 4-week plan for walking a little further, a little faster, or both.

What did the new walking study find?

The study was led by researchers at the University of Sydney, working with colleagues at Monash University in Melbourne and Universidad Europea de Madrid. They used data from UK Biobank, a long-running health study of middle-aged and older adults in the UK. Between 2013 and 2015, more than 100,000 volunteers wore a wrist activity tracker for seven days, which recorded how many steps they took and how quickly. The team then followed what happened to them until the end of November 2022, an average of about eight years.

The main analysis included 64,743 people with an average age of about 61, of whom 1,697 died during follow-up. People were grouped by daily steps (under 5,000, 5,000 to 7,500, 7,500 to 10,000 and over 10,000) and compared with the slowest walkers taking fewer than 5,000 steps a day. The headline results:

• Under 5,000 steps a day: a faster pace went with steadily lower risk. At 80 steps a minute in their busiest half hour, risk of death was about 28% lower than the reference group.
• 5,000 to 7,500 steps a day: even at a gentle 60 steps a minute, risk was about 30% lower than the reference group. In other words, fewer steps at a faster pace and more steps at a slower pace landed in a similar place.
• 7,500 to 10,000 steps a day: this group had the lowest risk of all, with the lowest point at around 100 steps a minute, roughly 43% lower than the reference group.
• Across all step counts: according to the journal publisher’s summary, at least 30 minutes a day of brisker walking was linked to lower risk.

A separate analysis of 70,075 people, covering 502 deaths from cardiovascular disease, showed similar patterns. The researchers concluded that early deaths might be prevented through different combinations of step count and pace, rather than one magic number.

How did the researchers measure walking pace?

Rather than asking people how fast they thought they walked, the trackers measured something called peak 30-minute cadence: the average number of steps per minute across a person’s 30 busiest minutes of the day. Those minutes did not have to be in a row, so three brisk 10-minute walks spread through a day would all feed into the number.

That detail matters. The pace signal came from a fairly small slice of each day, not from walking fast all the time. For context, a 2018 review in the same journal, which pooled 38 studies, concluded that around 100 steps a minute is a reasonable rule of thumb for moderate-intensity walking in adults. So 80 steps a minute, the pace linked to lower risk in the lowest step group, is a steady, purposeful walk rather than a race.

So is it better to walk further or walk faster?

The honest answer from this study is that it depends on where you are starting from, and that both routes seem to lead somewhere useful.

• If you take fewer than 5,000 steps a day (a desk job, a car commute, a busy family schedule), adding pace to the walking you already do may be the simplest change to make.
• If fast walking is uncomfortable or not realistic for you, more steps at a gentler pace were linked to a similar benefit.
• If you can do both, 7,500 to 10,000 steps a day with a brisk busiest half hour was where the study found the lowest risk.

The researchers suggest that a brisk pace for at least 30 minutes a day may be a useful target, especially for people who are not very active, and that flexible combinations of steps and pace could suit people who are short on time or face physical or environmental barriers. For a deeper look at step targets, see our guide to how many steps a day you actually need.

What can this study not tell you?

It is a big study, but it has limits worth knowing:

• It shows a link, not cause and effect. The study is observational, which the authors state clearly.
• Health can shape walking, not just the other way round. People who are already unwell often walk less and more slowly, which can make walking look more protective than it really is. Researchers adjust for this but cannot rule it out completely.
• One week of tracking. Steps were measured once, between 2013 and 2015, and habits change over eight years.
• An older group. The average participant was about 61, so results may look different in younger adults. UK Biobank volunteers also tend to be healthier than the population as a whole.

None of this makes the findings wrong. The sensible takeaway is modest: walking more and walking a bit faster are both good habits, not a guaranteed number of extra years.

What does a brisk walk actually feel like?

Three simple ways to check your pace:

• The talk test. The NHS says you are walking briskly if you can still talk but cannot sing the words to a song. If you could happily belt out a chorus, speed up a little.
• Speed. The NHS describes a brisk walk as about 3 miles an hour, which is faster than a stroll.
• Steps a minute. Count your steps for 15 seconds and multiply by four. Around 25 steps in 15 seconds is roughly 100 a minute. Many watches and phone apps also show cadence during a walk.

Cadence varies with height and leg length, so treat 100 as a guide and let the talk test have the final say.

How do you add pace or distance without overdoing it?

Small and steady beats big and short-lived. A few simple rules:

• Change one thing at a time. In a given week, walk a little longer or a little faster, not both at once.
• Start easy. Walk the first five minutes at a comfortable pace before you pick it up.
• Take quicker, shorter steps. Speed comes more comfortably from a faster rhythm and a relaxed arm swing than from overstriding.
• Use landmarks or music. Walk briskly between two lamp posts and easily to the next, or step in time with an upbeat playlist.
• Add steps in small chunks. A 10-minute walk at about 100 steps a minute adds roughly 1,000 steps, so a short walk after lunch or one stop earlier off the bus soon adds up.
• Listen to your body. Comfortable, supportive shoes help, and if your feet or shins ache into the next day, ease back for a few days.

What does a simple 4-week walking plan look like?

This plan builds towards the kind of target the researchers suggest: around 30 minutes of brisk walking on most days, which can be split into chunks. Begin each walk with five easy minutes, and keep the rest of your daily walking at whatever pace feels natural.

If a week feels hard, repeat it rather than pushing on. If you like a bit more structure once you reach weeks 3 and 4, the 6-6-6 walking workout is a popular format that slots in neatly. After week 4, keep the brisk half hour and nudge your daily steps up gradually if you want to move towards the 7,500 to 10,000 range.

Where does walking fit alongside running and strength?

Walking is a brilliant base, and for many people it is the most realistic way to be active most days. Brisk walking counts towards the UK guideline of 150 minutes of moderate activity a week, but the same guidelines also recommend strengthening activities on at least two days a week, which walking alone does not cover. Our guide on whether walking is enough exercise goes into that in more detail.

That is where a joined-up plan helps. Edge treats running, strength, HIIT and mobility as one plan, so it is easier to add the strength work walking misses without losing the walks you enjoy. Edge is free to start, and Edge Pro gives you a fully personalised plan ready within 24 hours, plus a real coach to message anytime. Edge syncs with Strava, Garmin, Apple Health and Coros, and from November your steps will also earn points on Edge Rewards, Edge’s free rewards programme: 2.5 points per 1,000 steps (up to 25 a day), and a logged walk counts as a workout at 1 point per minute, within a 50-point daily max.

This article is general guidance, not medical advice. If you are new to exercise, returning from injury, or managing a health condition, speak to your GP before starting, and see a physio for any niggle that does not settle.