Just 8,500 steps a day could be the secret to keeping weight off

Weight management programmes frequently include advice to increase the number of steps walked each day, however, there is a lack of evidence to show that it helps with weight loss during dieting.

Moreover, it isn’t clear if doing more steps also helps people maintain their new weight and, if it does, how many they should do.

“The most important – and greatest – challenge when treating obesity is preventing weight regain,” explains Professor Marwan El Ghoch, of the Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy.

“Around 80% of people with overweight or obesity who initially lose weight tend to put some or all of it back on again within three to five years.

“The identification of a strategy that would solve this problem and help people maintain their new weight would be of huge clinical value.”

Professor El Ghoch and researchers from Italy and Lebanon conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of existing research to find out more.

Eighteen randomised controlled trials on the topic were included in the systematic review. Fourteen of these, involving 3,758 individuals (average age of 53 years) with overweight or obesity (average BMI of 31 kg/m2) from countries including the UK, US, Australia and Japan, were included in the meta-analysis.

These trials compared 1,987 patients participating in lifestyle modification (LSM) programmes with 1,771 patients who were either dieting alone or not receiving any treatment (control group).

The lifestyle modification programmes included dietary recommendations and advice to walk more and count the number of steps done. The programmes had a weight loss phase, followed by a weight maintenance phase, where the aim was to keep the weight off in the long term.

Daily number of steps was measured at the start of the trials, at the end of the weight loss phase (average duration of 7.9 months) and at the end of the weight maintenance phase (average duration of 10.3 months).

Both groups of patients had a similar number of steps per day at the start of the trials (7,280 in LSM group vs. 7,180 in control group) indicating that they had similar lifestyles at baseline.

The control group did not increase their number of steps and did not lose weight at any time.

In contrast, the LSM group increased their step count to 8,454 a day by the end of the weight loss phase. They also lost a significant amount of their body weight (4.39% on average, around 4 kg).

They maintained this higher step count and, at the end of the weight maintenance phase, they were doing 8,241 steps daily. They also kept off most of the weight they had lost (average weight loss at end of trials of 3.28%, around 3 kg).

Further analysis showed that there was a clear link between increasing step count and preventing weight regain. Specifically, it was important to increase step count during the weight loss phase and maintain this increase during the weight maintenance phase. Patients who did so regained less weight.

Interestingly, an increase in daily steps was not associated with greater weight loss in the weight loss phase. The researchers speculate this is because other factors, such as reducing calorie intake, play a greater role here.

Professor El Ghosh concludes that lifestyle modification programmes can lead to a meaningful amount of weight loss long term.

He adds: “Participants should be always encouraged to increase their step count to approximately 8,500 a day during the weight loss phase and sustain this level of physical activity during the maintenance phase to help prevent them from regaining weight. “Increasing the number of steps walked to 8,500 each day is a simple and affordable strategy to prevent weight regain.”