2000, 7000 or 10,000? The real number of steps you need to do to lose weight

Do you really need to hit a ‘magic’ number of steps a day to reap the health benefits ? We ask the experts In today’s age of smartwatches and Fitbits, it’s hard to go for more than a few hours without taking a sneaky peak at your daily step count. Whether it’s the endorphin rush from the celebratory ping to inform you that you’ve hit 10,000 steps, or the nagging sense of shame that comes with the realisation you’ve done less than 2000 – as happens on some of my busier days glued to my desk – step counts have become part of our lives. But they’re not just a gimmick.

Research is increasingly showing that your daily step count, especially when averaged out across months and years, makes a huge difference to your disease risk and how long you can expect to live. And the case for not moving more makes for sober reading: according to the United Kingdom Government’s official statistics, physical inactivity is responsible for one in six otherwise preventable deaths..