How can you do something daily once a week?
They mean 4000 on a single day once per week, i.e. not just 4000 steps per week spread over multiple days.
You could read it as “meeting the daily quota just once a week has noticeable effects already”.
But it is a weird way to word that headline
Does ‘daily’ always mean every day or can it also mean per day?
It means every day.
It can mean both, apparently.
I think the same (like its German counterpart), as the journalists of the Guardian are probably native speakers who should know, but the reactions of other lemmings seems to suggest that the other meaning is relatively uncommon.
I feel like there could very easily be some correlation here. Those older people ABLE to walk 4,000 steps in a day are healthier than those UNABLE, right? So of course they’re likely to live longer.
(Not discounting the health value of activity at all.)
This study used a proportional hazards model. Confounders like lifestyle behaviors and comorbidities were controlled for. Unfortunately, the only factor relating to ability is a nebulous, self-reported, qualitative “health status”, with possible answers of excellent, very good, good, fair, and poor. The researchers excluded the fair and poor groups, but the imprecise nature of that factor is an issue.
Here’s the paper if you’re curious:
https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/early/2025/10/13/bjsports-2025-110311
Thanks!
You bet! I try to use my nerd skills for good.
