Forget 10,000 steps, this is the real key to keeping weight off

Successfully keeping weight off is a monumental challenge. "Around 80 per cent of people experience weight regain within three to five years," said biomedical scientist Marwan El Ghoch, highlighting the difficulty of long-term weight maintenance.

Challenging the 10,000-step myth

A new study challenges the long-held 10,000-step goal, a figure from a 1965 marketing campaign, not scientific evidence. The research analysed data from 3,758 adults across 14 trials to find a better goal for preventing weight regain.

Participants were split into two groups: one began a lifestyle programme combining a healthier diet and increased physical activity, while a control group continued their usual lifestyle.

The evidence for 8,500 daily steps

Both groups started with around 7,200 daily steps. The data showed that those on the expert-guided programme achieved an initial weight loss of 4.4 per cent.

Crucially, this group kept weight off, maintaining about 3.3 per cent of that loss during the maintenance phase.

They achieved this by increasing their activity to an average of 8,241 daily steps. The control group did not increase their step count or lose weight.

"Increasing your daily steps to around 8,500 steps is a simple and affordable strategy to prevent weight regain," El Ghoch explained.

Activity is crucial for weight maintenance

The link between more daily steps and weight maintenance was strongest during the follow-up phase, suggesting physical activity is most vital after initial weight loss.

However, the researchers note their finding is not yet a prescription. "The proposed threshold should be considered as hypothesis-generating rather than prescriptive," the team wrote.