I recently swapped out 10,000 steps a day for “Japanese walking” – partly for the health benefits, but mostly because even though I love to run, the 10k figure simply sounds like it’d take too long.

It seems there’s more reason than laziness to give up the goal, too. Not only was the figure of 10k a marketing tool originally, but new research published in medical journal The Lancet has pinpointed an updated “sweet spot” for walkers – and it’s far more manageable.

The paper, which analysed data from over 160,000 adults, found the lower figure was linked to a 47% risk reduction in all-cause mortality, as well as reduced risk for cardiovascular disease (25% reduction), cancer (6%........

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