Walking 8,500 Steps Daily May Help Maintain Weight Loss After Dieting
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A new meta-analysis suggests that increasing daily walking to around 8,500 steps can help people maintain weight loss after dieting. Participants in lifestyle programs that combined dieting with step tracking lost weight and kept it off, while those who did not increase walking saw no significant change. The findings will be presented at a European obesity congress and published in a scientific journal.
Facts First
- Walking approximately 8,500 steps a day may help avoid weight regain after dieting.
- Lifestyle programs combining diet and walking led to an average long-term weight loss of about 3 kg.
- Participants who did not increase walking did not experience significant weight loss.
- The analysis reviewed 14 studies involving 3,758 adults from several countries.
- Increased walking was linked to maintenance, not greater initial weight loss.
What Happened
Professor Marwan El Ghoch and colleagues conducted a systematic review of previous studies on walking and weight management. They reviewed 18 randomized controlled trials, with the final analysis including 14 studies involving 3,758 adults. The trials compared participants in lifestyle modification (LSM) programs—which combined dietary guidance with recommendations to walk more—with control groups who were dieting without support. At the start, both groups averaged around 7,200 steps per day. The control group did not significantly increase walking and did not lose weight. Participants in the LSM programs increased their daily steps to an average of 8,454 during a weight loss phase, losing an average of 4 kg. By the end of the studies, they maintained an average long-term weight loss of about 3 kg.
Why this Matters to You
If you are trying to lose weight and keep it off, this research suggests a specific, measurable target for daily activity. Achieving around 8,500 steps a day could be a practical strategy to help prevent regaining lost weight. The findings indicate that the benefit of walking is primarily for maintaining weight loss after dieting, not for losing more weight initially.
What's Next
The research findings will be presented at the European Congress on Obesity (ECO 2026) and published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. This could lead to these step targets being incorporated into more formal weight management guidelines and programs.