A study of 64,743 UK Biobank participants, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine on 11 September 2026, has found that walking pace and daily step count each independently predict the risk of early death, challenging the assumption that step count alone is what matters. The analysis is one of the largest device-based studies yet to compare step count and stepping pace side by side within the same UK population, using accelerometer data rather than self-reported activity. Researchers led by Professor Emmanuel Stamatakis, now at Monash University, fitted participants with wrist-worn activity trackers between 2013 and 2015 and followed their health records for an average of eight years. During that time, 1,697 participants died from any cause and 502 died from cardiovascular disease. People who took fewer than 5,000 steps a day but walked briskly, at 80 or more steps per minute, had a mortality risk broadly similar to those who took 5,000 to 7,500 slower steps. The lowest risk overall was seen among people who took 7,500 to 10,000 steps a day, whatever their pace.
Why the 10,000-step target is being questioned
The findings are observational, so they cannot prove that a faster pace or a higher step count directly caused the difference in death rates; other health and lifestyle factors may explain part of the pattern, according to the BMJ Group summary of the paper. The widely quoted 10,000-step target has no clear grounding in exercise science and is often traced to a 1965 Japanese pedometer marketing campaign rather than a clinical trial. The authors call for step-count guidance that also considers pace, rather than treating 10,000 steps as a single universal target. The research was funded by Australia's National Health and Medical Research Council. Average participant age in the mortality analysis was 61, and 58% of the group were women.
What this means for your supplement routine
This is a study of movement, not of any nutrient or supplement, so it does not change the evidence behind any product Perqen sells. It is a useful data point for anyone weighing up how they spend on fitness or recovery: intensity, not only volume, appears to matter for the outcomes people track step counts to influence. None of this changes settled guidance on any vitamin, mineral or sports nutrition product; it is simply a reason to look at how you move rather than only how much. Members who already buy recovery or wellness products alongside their activity can compare options in the health and wellness collection.
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This article reports published news and research and is for information only. Food supplements are not a substitute for a varied diet or medical care, and no product mentioned is intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Speak to your GP or pharmacist before changing what you take, especially if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, or taking prescribed medicines.