A study of more than 5,500 young people found that higher daily step counts were associated with fewer emotional, behavioural and attention difficulties a year later, with the strongest link among those taking at least 12,000 steps.
A large study of adolescents suggests that simply moving more each day may be tied to better mental health a year later, with the clearest differences seen among young people who logged the most steps. According to FITBOOK, the gap was widest between those who averaged at least 12,000 steps a day and those who managed fewer than 5,000.
Researchers at King’s College London and the University of Massachusetts Amherst analysed data from 5,515 young people, averaging just under 12 years old, across 21 research centres in the United States. For three weeks, the participants wore wrist-based activity monitors that recorded their daily step counts. The team also used MRI scans to examine brain structure, looking for changes in regions involved in movement and mood regulation.
One year later, the adolescents completed questionnaires measuring emotional, behavioural and attention difficulties, as well as school performance. The analysis took account of age, sex, body mass index, parents’ educational attainment and broader socio-economic conditions. The study found that higher daily step counts were linked with fewer mental health problems the following year, and the relationship strengthened as activity increased. Even those taking 5,000 to 7,499 steps a day tended to fare better than the least active group, while the strongest association appeared among participants reaching at least 12,000 steps.
The researchers said they could not identify a single threshold above which the benefit suddenly became more pronounced, so the findings do not support a rigid target such as 10,000 or 12,000 steps for all young people. They also found no clear overall link between step count and academic performance, although students in the 10,000 to 11,999-step range did somewhat better than those below 5,000. Related research in young adults has pointed in a similar direction, with higher step counts associated not only with better mental health but also with improved sleep, reinforcing the idea that everyday movement may support wellbeing across age groups.
Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical judgment, advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
