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It's widely believed that 10,000 steps a day is the gold standard for our health, but for many - especially as exercise becomes tougher with age - that goal can feel out of reach.

Now, new research suggests you may not need to walk nearly that far to see real benefits.

A study found that older women who clocked up around 4,000 steps just once or twice a week slashed their risk of early death by 26 per cent, research suggests.

Researchers said it is the amount people walk, rather than the number of days on which they walk, that is important for slashing death rates and the risk of heart disease.

They suggested that benchmarks such as needing to walk 10,000 steps every single day are wrong, adding "there is no 'better' or 'best' pattern to take steps".They said mov

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