For years, we’ve all heard that hitting 10,000 steps a day is the ultimate goal for staying healthy — both physically and mentally.

But recent research is shaking up that idea, suggesting you don’t actually need that many steps to protect yourself from serious illnesses like cancer.

How 7,000 Steps Can Make a Big Difference

A fresh study from the University of Oxford shows that walking just 7,000 steps daily can reduce your risk of developing up to 13 different types of cancer by 11 percent.

The research tracked over 85,000 people in the UK who wore activity monitors for a week, measuring not only how much they moved but how intensely.

Interestingly, walking more than 9,000 steps a day only lowered the cancer risk by 16 percent — and beyond that, extra steps didn’t seem to add any more protection.

What Types of Cancer Are Affected?

The researchers focused on cancers known to be linked with low physical activity, including oesophageal, liver, lung, kidney, stomach, endometrial, and breast cancer, among others.

Over six years of follow-up, just 3 percent of participants developed one of these cancers, with bowel and lung cancer topping the list for men, and breast, bowel, endometrial, and lung cancer being most common in women.

Light Activity Is Still Valuable

Swapping time spent sitting for either light or moderate exercise helped lower cancer risk, but upgrading from light to moderate activity didn’t seem to give extra benefits.

Light exercise, like walking, can help regulate insulin — a hormone that influences how our bodies convert food into energy.

Since unstable insulin levels have been linked to cancer development, this is an important factor.

Why Walking Works Against Cancer

Walking not only helps the body manage infections that could potentially lead to cancer but also aids in keeping a healthy weight.

Being overweight or obese is the second biggest cause of cancer, according to Cancer Research UK.

Extra body fat sends signals that can cause cells to divide too rapidly, increasing the risk of cancerous tumors forming.

Breaking Down Your Steps Throughout the Day

The good news? You don’t have to do all 7,000 steps in one go. Mhairi Morris, a biochemist and senior lecturer at Loughborough University, says it’s perfectly fine to spread your walking throughout the day — whether that’s taking the stairs instead of the elevator, strolling during lunch breaks, pacing during phone calls, or parking further away from your destination.

The Bigger Picture: Rising Cancer Cases Among Young Adults

Cancer remains a huge challenge in the UK, with over 400,000 new diagnoses each year and 167,000 deaths. Alarmingly, doctors are warning about a rising cancer epidemic among younger adults, with around 80,000 people under 40 expected to be diagnosed this year alone.

One of the fastest-growing cancers in this age group is bowel cancer, with early-onset cases in people aged 20 to 34 expected to almost double by 2030 compared to 2010.

What’s Next?

With this research in mind, maybe it’s time to rethink our fitness goals and focus on hitting that 7,000-step mark daily — in whatever way fits your lifestyle best. Every step counts in the fight against cancer.