With many studies emphasizing the importance of physical exercise for the body in improving health, combating aging and preventing diseases, few have looked at exactly how many steps people should walk daily to reach those results.

Scientists from the University of Sydney and southern Denmark have found that 10 thousands of steps a day is already an important way to reach satisfactory health outcomes, and how quickly we walk can be equally important.

Scientists studied 78,500 adults in the UK between 2013 and 2015.

Participants wore activity trackers 24 hours a day for one week, which recorded the number of steps they took in addition to the speed at which they walked, and researchers looked at their health results seven years later.

The researchers found that walking 10 thousands of steps a day reduces the risk of dementia by about 50 percent, the risk of cancer by about 30 percent, and the risk of cardiovascular disease by about 75 percent.

According to Canadian broadcaster CBC, one of the study's lead researchers, Borja del Pozo Cruz, said the goal of walking 10000 a step that actually arose from a Japanese marketing campaign in the 1960s aimed at selling step counters, which later replaced smart watches.

Cruz added: "For some people, this number may be unrealistic, but every step is important. Just go out and do it, because anything is better than nothing. "

The study also found that walking faster was associated with additional health benefits.

Walking 10,000 steps a day reduces dementia risk by 50 percent, but walking faster can add a further 10 to 15 percent reduction in risk, Cruz said.

"How fast you walk is as important, if not more important, as how much you walk, for more perfect health, you can walk 10 thousands of steps faster."