The news: The popular physical fitness goal of 10,000 steps per day may be getting an overhaul with new research that found 7,000 steps per day offers significant health benefits and lowers risk of serious disease.

Digging into the details: The study, led by University of Sydney and published in the Lancet, analyzed data from more than 160,000 adults. It compared the health benefits between walking 2,000 steps or 7,000 steps per day.

Walking 7,000 steps a day is clinically meaningful, and resulted in a 47% reduction in the overall risk of dying at that level of activity. It also led to:

• 38% decrease in risk for developing dementia
• 37% reduction in the risk of dying from cancer
• 28% lowered risk for falls
• 25% lower risk of developing cardiovascular disease
• 14% decrease for type 2 diabetes

Yes, and: Walking more steps after 7,000 per day did continue to lower risks, but the rate of reduction slowed after that. 10,000 steps per day was associated with a 48% reduction in overall mortality risk, but did not result in statistically significant reduced risks compared to 7,000 steps per day for falls, cardiovascular disease, and type 2 diabetes.

The average US adult walks between 5,000 and 7,000 steps per day, per Verywell Fit.