The Power of Movement: Why Every Step Counts for Your Health

Your Daily Steps Are More Powerful Than You Think

Imagine if there was a single intervention that could reduce your risk of heart disease by 25%, lower your chances of developing dementia by 38%, and cut your risk of early death by nearly half. The good news? This intervention exists, it's free, and you can start today. It's called physical activity, and new groundbreaking research shows that even modest amounts can transform your health.

The Science Behind Every Step

A comprehensive study published in The Lancet Public Health in 2025 analyzed data from over 160,000 adults across 35 research studies worldwide, providing the most robust evidence to date about the health benefits of daily physical activity. The findings are nothing short of remarkable.

The research examined how daily step counts relate to nine major health outcomes, including heart disease, cancer, diabetes, dementia, depression, and overall survival. What they discovered challenges the common belief that you need to achieve 10,000 steps daily to see meaningful health benefits.

The Magic Number: 7,000 Steps

While 10,000 steps per day remains an excellent target for those who are highly active, the research revealed that 7,000 steps per day provides substantial health benefits across virtually all health conditions studied. Compared to taking just 2,000 steps daily (roughly equivalent to being sedentary), reaching 7,000 steps was associated with a remarkable 47% lower risk of death from any cause, a 25% lower risk of heart disease, a 37% lower risk of cancer death, a 38% lower risk of dementia, a 22% lower risk of depression, and a 28% lower risk of falls in older adults.

Perhaps most encouraging, the study found that even 4,000 steps per day provided significant protection, with a 36% reduction in death risk compared to minimal activity levels.

Every Step Counts: The Dose-Response Relationship

The research demonstrated what scientists call a "dose-response relationship" – meaning that as physical activity increases, health benefits continue to grow. However, the most dramatic improvements occur when moving from very low activity levels to moderate ones. This means that if you're currently inactive, even small increases in daily movement can yield substantial health rewards.

For those already achieving 7,000 steps daily, increasing to 10,000 steps provides additional benefits, particularly for heart disease, cancer mortality, and dementia prevention. The message is clear: any movement is better than none, more is generally better than less, and there's benefit to be gained at every activity level.

Why Age Doesn't Diminish the Power of Movement

The research included adults of all ages and found that physical activity benefits persist throughout life. Interestingly, the study revealed that older adults may see even greater relative benefits from increased activity than younger people. This is particularly important because physical activity becomes increasingly crucial for maintaining independence, preventing falls, and preserving cognitive function as we age.

For older adults concerned about high-impact exercise, walking remains one of the safest and most effective forms of physical activity. The research focused primarily on step-based activities, which include walking, hiking, and other ambulatory movements that are accessible to most people regardless of fitness level.

The Critical Importance of Honest Health Reporting

While increasing your physical activity is essential, accurately reporting your activity levels to healthcare providers is equally important – and potentially life-saving. Many patients tend to focus on their limitations, worst days, or symptoms when speaking with doctors, but this natural tendency to emphasize what's wrong can have serious unintended consequences for their care.

When doctors ask about your physical abilities, they need to understand what you can actually do on a typical day, not just how you feel on your worst days. This balanced perspective is crucial because treatment decisions are based on your overall functional capacity, not your most challenging moments.

Performance Status: A Gateway to Treatment

In cancer care, doctors use something called "performance status" to determine which treatments patients can safely receive. Performance status measures how well you can perform daily activities and is directly related to your physical function and activity levels. This assessment influences critical treatment decisions because many advanced cancer therapies, including targeted drugs and immunotherapies, are only approved for patients with good performance status.

The most commonly used system is the ECOG Performance Status Scale, which ranges from 0 to 4. An ECOG 0 means you are fully active and able to carry out all normal activities without restriction, much like your pre-illness state. ECOG 1 indicates you're restricted in physically strenuous activity but can walk around and carry out light work, including light housework or office work. ECOG 2 means you can walk and care for yourself but cannot work, spending less than 50% of waking hours lying down. ECOG 3 describes someone who can only care for themselves to a limited extent, spending more than 50% of waking hours in bed or a chair. ECOG 4 represents being completely disabled, unable to carry out any self-care, and confined to bed or chair.

Many cutting-edge cancer treatments are only available to patients with ECOG 0 or 1 status, while some therapies require ECOG 0-2. This means the difference between accurately reporting that you can walk several blocks daily versus focusing only on saying you "get tired easily" could determine whether you qualify for potentially life-saving treatments.

The most common problem is that patients underreport their physical capabilities, often focusing on their symptoms or limitations rather than what they can actually accomplish. When asked about physical function, patients frequently describe their worst days or emphasize their fatigue, pain, or other symptoms. While these concerns are valid and important to discuss, they shouldn't overshadow your actual functional abilities.

If you can climb stairs, walk several blocks, do housework, work part-time, or maintain most of your usual activities, make sure your healthcare team knows these specific capabilities. Don't let concerns about appearing to minimize your symptoms prevent you from accurately describing what you can do. Your doctor needs both pieces of information – your symptoms and your actual functional capacity – to make the best treatment decisions.

Beyond Cancer: Performance Status Across Medical Conditions

Performance status assessment isn't limited to cancer care. Doctors use similar evaluations when considering treatments for heart disease, determining surgical candidacy, planning rehabilitation programs, and making decisions about medication dosing across many medical conditions. Your reported activity level influences these critical healthcare decisions.

Making Reporting Easy: Your Digital Solution

Accurately tracking and reporting your physical activity doesn't have to be complicated, and objective data can help overcome the natural tendency to focus on limitations rather than capabilities when talking to your healthcare team. Modern technology offers simple solutions that can seamlessly integrate with your healthcare. Through your PEACHealth app, you can automatically sync step counts from your smartphone or wearable device, report physical function using validated assessment tools, share data directly with your healthcare providers with just a few taps, track progress over time to see how your activity levels change, and ensure accurate reporting for optimal treatment decisions.

This eliminates the guesswork and the tendency to focus on bad days that often occur when doctors ask, "How active are you?" during appointments. Instead, you can provide concrete, objective data that shows what you actually accomplish on a typical day, helping your healthcare team make the best decisions for your care based on your real functional capacity.

Your Action Plan: Starting Today

If You're Currently Inactive

Don't feel overwhelmed by step count targets. Start with what feels manageable, as even an extra 500-1,000 steps per day can begin providing health benefits. This might mean parking farther from store entrances, taking the stairs instead of elevators when possible, walking during phone calls, or adding a short walk after meals.

If You're Moderately Active

Aim to gradually increase toward the 7,000-step target. Consider setting a daily step goal and tracking your progress, finding enjoyable activities like dancing, gardening, or hiking, building movement into your routine rather than viewing it as separate "exercise time," and inviting friends or family to join you for accountability and social connection.

If You're Already Active

Congratulations! Maintain your current activity level and consider varying your activities to prevent boredom and work different muscle groups, helping others in your community become more active, and using your activity data to advocate for appropriate medical care.

The Path Forward: Movement and Honest Communication

The evidence is overwhelming: physical activity is one of the most powerful tools we have for preventing disease and promoting longevity. Whether you're aiming for 4,000 steps or 10,000, every bit of movement contributes to better health outcomes.

Equally important is your commitment to balanced, accurate reporting of your physical capabilities to your healthcare providers. While it's natural to focus on symptoms and limitations when you're not feeling well, remember that your doctors also need to understand what you can actually do on a typical day. This complete picture ensures you receive appropriate treatments and aren't denied therapies that could benefit you based on an incomplete understanding of your functional capacity.

Your PEACHealth app makes both tracking and reporting straightforward, providing objective data that shows your real activity levels rather than just your subjective sense of limitation or fatigue.

Remember, the journey to better health doesn't require perfection – it requires consistency and comprehensive communication. Every step you take is an investment in your future health, and every complete conversation with your healthcare provider about both your capabilities and your challenges is an opportunity for better care.

Start where you are, move more than yesterday, and communicate openly with your healthcare team. Your future self will thank you for both the movement and the honesty.

August 2025

Prepared by Professor Eric Lim for PEACHealth with background research and drafting assistance by LLM.