Increasing Steps Can Help With Weight Loss and Maintenance

TUESDAY, May 12, 2026 (HealthDay News) -- Targeting 8,500 steps a day can help people keep weight off after dieting, according to a review published May 9 in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health to coincide with the annual European Congress on Obesity, held from May 12 to 15 in Istanbul.Dana Saadeddine, from the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia in Italy, and colleagues conducted a systematic literature review to quantify the effect of lifestyle modification (LSM) program interventions on daily step counts compared to usual care management during both weight loss (WL) and weight maintenance phases.Based on 14 randomized controlled trials included in the meta-analysis (3,758 participants with overweight or obesity), the researchers found that at baseline, there were no significant differences in mean daily steps between the LSM and control groups (7,280 versus 7,180). However, at a mean duration of 7.88 months, the LSM arm showed a significant increase in daily steps versus baseline (8,454 versus 7,486 steps) and significant WL (4.39 percent). At a mean duration of 10.27 months, the LSM arm maintained the level of daily steps achieved by the end of the WL phase (8,241 versus 8,454 steps) and also achieved a significant WL percentage (3.28 percent). At all time points, the control arm showed no significant changes in daily steps and weight status. In the LSM arm, meta-regression showed a positive relationship between daily steps at both time points and WL percentage at the second time point (β = 1.33 and 1.10, respectively). "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," coauthor Marwan El Ghoch, Ph.D., also from the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, said in a statement. Abstract/Full TextMore Information

Increasing Steps Can Help With Weight Loss and Maintenance

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