Study Finds People in Diet-and-Walking Programs Averaged 8,500 Daily Steps and Lost Modest Weight Over 3 Months

People who combine dieting with increased walking can maintain significant weight loss by reaching approximately 8,500 steps per day, according to a new study by the European Association for the Study of Obesity. The analysis covered 14 existing studies involving 3,758 individuals classified as overweight or obese with an average age of 53 from the UK, US, Australia, and Japan.

Of those, 1,987 patients participated in lifestyle modification programmes including dietary recommendations and advice to walk more, while 1,771 patients were either dieting alone or not receiving any treatment.

At the start of the trials, the lifestyle group averaged 7,280 daily steps and the comparison group averaged 7,180 daily steps. 3 months. 39 percent of body weight, around 4 kg.

28 percent, or around 3 kg. The control group did not increase their number of steps and did not lose weight at any time. Researchers concluded that increasing the number of steps walked to 8,500 each day is a simple and affordable strategy to prevent weight regain.

"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," said Marwan El Ghoch, a professor at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia in Italy.

" The findings are being presented at the European Congress on Obesity in Istanbul, Turkey, and are slated for publication in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.

Obesity is expected to reach 30 percent by 2035 according to the World Obesity Atlas. People with obesity are at 70 percent higher risk of serious infections, and one in ten infectious disease deaths globally are potentially linked to obesity. The World Health Organization Europe set a target to halt the increase in adult obesity at 2010 levels by 2025.

No European country met the WHO Europe 2025 obesity target, with obesity rates in Europe up 138 percent since 1975. The 2022–2030 Non-Communicable Diseases Action Plan includes a 30 percent relative drop in mean BMI by 2030 and preventing child obesity.