Short jogs or long walks: Which one is better for your heart?

Walking elevates your health and quality of life — in an era of wellness-conscious individuals, everyone is aware of this truth. Walking not only improves cardiovascular health, strengthens bones and muscles, and aids in weight management, but it also boosts your mental well-being by reducing stress, improving mood, and sharpening cognitive function.

But when it comes to heart health, many people often wonder: Is taking a short jog better? Or should they go for a long and brisk walk?

This question has long been the source of confusion for both beginners and seasoned fitness enthusiasts — but no more. Now, we have an answer — that too, based on recent scientific research.

Want to know which is better for your heart and overall health? Read on.

New research shows that adults who take their daily steps in one or two continuous walks of 15 minutes or more have significantly lower risks of heart disease and death than those who mostly take many very short walks throughout the day. In a study, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, of more than 33,000 healthy adults (average age about 62) who were tracked for nearly ten years, those who logged most of their steps in very short bursts — less than five minutes at a time — were at much higher risk of cardiovascular problems. The finding suggests that how you walk — the duration of each walking session — may matter nearly as much as the total number of steps you take. For fairly inactive people, the results are especially meaningful.

What are the study highlights? The international team of scientists used data from the UK Biobank — a large health research database in the UK — to study 33,560 adults who recorded fewer than 8,000 steps per day on average where participants wore wrist-worn accelerometers for 3 to 7 days between 2013 and 2015 to measure not only how many steps they took — but how those steps were grouped into walking “bouts.”

So, researchers sorted participants into four groups based on how most of their steps were accumulated in a single walk:

Less than 5 minutes

5 to under 10 minutes

10 to under 15 minutes

15 minutes or longer

Interestingly, over about 9 years of follow-up, those who walked in the longest bouts had the lowest risks of death and cardiovascular disease (CVD). For instance, all-cause mortality was roughly 4.36% in the “less than 5-minute” group, but only about 0.80% in the “15-minute or longer” group. For CVD risk, about 13.03% in the shortest-bout group versus around 4.39% in the longest-bout group. And for those who were the most sedentary (fewer than 5,000 steps per day), the benefit of longer walks was even stronger.

Now, as the findings of the study suggest, there is a shift in narrative here: instead of only asking “how many steps did I take today?”, we must now look at “how long did I walk at once?”

But why is walking longer at a stretch beneficial for health?

Let’s unpack the key factors.

Cardiovascular stimulation: When you walk for a continuous 10–15 minutes, your heart rate stays elevated and your body engages in sustained aerobic activity. This supports improved blood flow, oxygen delivery, and heart muscle conditioning.

Metabolic benefits: Longer bouts of movement may help activate insulin sensitivity, lipid metabolism, and other cardiometabolic pathways, which shorter bursts may not fully engage.

Less fragmentation leading to better effect: When walking is broken into many very short spells (e.g., 1-2 minutes here and there), the body may not reach an effective steady state of activity. The more sustained the effort, the more benefit.

Behavioral factors: Longer walks tend to be more intentional, possibly at a steadier or slightly faster pace, and may encourage habit formation. Regularly setting aside 10–15 minutes can become part of a routine rather than an incidental movement.

Feasibility: For less active people, it may be easier to aim for “one block of 10-15 minutes walking” than many micro-walks. The study in question, in fact, showed the biggest improvements among the least active group.

While the benefits apply broadly, the greatest positive effects were seen in people who were initially less active. For those walking fewer steps daily, shifting from very short walking bursts to longer ones produced the most dramatic risk reductions.

Now, this means:

If you currently walk very little or only sporadically, focusing on taking a continuous walk of 10–15 minutes can potentially make a big difference.

If you’re older, have a sedentary job, or limited mobility, this approach is accessible, safe, and likely more sustainable than high-intensity workouts.

If you’re already active and doing many short walks, you might consider combining them into fewer but longer sessions to potentially unlock additional benefits.

However, it’s worth noting that this study has had its own fair share of limitations, such as the study being observational in nature, and while it controls for many factors, it cannot prove causation — meaning, walking longer may be a marker for other healthy behaviors as well.

Schedule a 10–15 minute walk when you can: after meals, in the morning, during a break.

Try to walk continuously at a steady pace, avoiding stopping and starting, if your fitness allows.

If 10–15 minutes feels too much initially, start with 5-8 minutes, then gradually build to over 10.

Focus on consistency — doing this regularly (daily or most days) helps turn a habit into long-term gain.

Consider the speed alongside the time spent walking. A moderate pace is good; for a better effect, you can increase slightly (a swift walk) if comfortable.

Wear good shoes, choose a safe path, and if needed, bring water or walk in cooler hours for comfort.

Track your progress — use a timer, or a phone app, to monitor continuous walk time rather than just steps.

However, if you have health conditions, joint problems, or mobility issues, consult a healthcare provider before increasing walking duration or pace.