The most widely promoted target for people tracking their number of steps is 10,000 – but that figure reportedly originally came from a 1960s marketing campaign for a Japanese paedometer.

To find a more scientific target, an international team of researchers sifted through 57 previous studies that covered 160,000 people.

The results, published in Lancet Public Health, found that walking 7,000 steps a day nearly halved people’s risk of early death from all causes, compared to 2,000 steps.

The study also looked into health problems not previously covered by research into step counts. Walking 7,000 steps a day was linked to dementia risk falling by 38%, depression by 22%, and diabetes by 14%.

It was also associated with lower rates of cancer and falls, though the researchers warned this was based on less evidence.

“You don’t need to hit 10,000 steps a day to get major health benefits,” Paddy Dempsey, a study co-author and medical researcher at Cambridge University, told AFP.

“The biggest gains happen before 7,000 steps, and then benefits tend to level off.”

While people’s speeds vary widely, 7,000 steps adds up to roughly an hour of walking throughout the day.

Dempsey emphasised that people already managing 10,000 or more steps should keep it up. But he had a message for people who might find 7,000 steps daunting: “Don’t be discouraged.”

“If you’re only getting 2,000-3,000 steps a day, aim to add an extra 1,000 steps. That’s just 10-15 minutes of light walking spread across the day,” he advised.

Andrew Scott, a researcher at the University of Portsmouth not involved in the study, said “it demonstrates that overall, more is always better”.

“People should not focus too much on the numbers, particularly on days where activity is limited,” he added.

The World Health Organization recommends at least 150 minutes of moderate to intense physical activity a week. Nearly a third of people worldwide do not reach this target, according to WHO.