Most of the evidence of the health benefits of reaching a target of 8,000-10,000 steps today is around cardio-metabolic benefits. A recent review and meta-analysis looked at the benefits of stepping and depression. Bizzozero-Peroni et al (2024) combined results from 33 studies involving 96,173 adults across 13 different countries to examine the relationship between step count and the development of depression.
As with cardio-metabolic diseases the authors found an inverse relationship between the number of daily steps and the development of depression. The benefit of walking was seen at 5,000 steps per day and the relationship was linear up to 10,000 steps per day with more steps being associated with a lower likelihood of developing depression.
In line with most of the research in this area the data came from studies where the number of steps per day was ascertained over a seven day period at the start of the study period and then the participants followed prospectively, and the development of depression monitored over time.
Bizzozero-Peroni et al. (2024) suggest that the benefits of walking on the development of depression could be psychosocial or come from biological pathways.
Bizzozero-Peroni B, Díaz-Goñi V, Jiménez-López E, Rodríguez-Gutiérrez E, Sequí-Domínguez I, Núñez de Arenas-Arroyo S, López-Gil JF, Martínez-Vizcaíno V, Mesas AE. Daily Step Count and Depression in Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. JAMA Netw Open. 2024 Dec 2;7(12):e2451208. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.51208. PMID: 39680407; PMCID: PMC11650418.