New research to be presented at this year's European Congress on Obesity (ECO 2026) in Istanbul, Turkey (May 12-15) suggests that walking around 8,500 steps a day may help people avoid regaining weight after dieting. The findings will also be published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health . Many weight loss programs encourage people to walk more each day, but researchers say there has been limited evidence showing whether increasing daily steps actually helps people lose weight while dieting. It has also remained unclear whether walking more can help people maintain weight loss over time and, if so, what step count may be most effective. Why Preventing Weight Regain Matters "The most important -- and greatest -- challenge when treating obesity is preventing weight regain," explains Professor Marwan El Ghoch, of the Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy.…