New research shows that walking just 8,500 steps can prevent weight regain, compared with the common advice of 10,000 steps. According to the research presented at the European Congress on Obesity (ECO 2026) in Istanbul, Turkey, and published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health , taking 8,500 steps a day can help, as “around 80 per cent of people with overweight or obesity who initially lose weight tend to put some or all of it back on again within three to five years”. Professor Marwan El Ghoch, who led the research at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia (Italy), highlighted that 8,500 steps acts as a key threshold for maintaining long-term weight loss. Prof Ghoch was joined by researchers from Italy and Lebanon who conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of existing research. The systematic review included 18 randomised controlled trials on the topic.…