Your step count matters. Here’s seven ways to boost it this winter

It is still possible to keep active and walking even in the darker months - (Getty Images)

New research indicates that older women who walked approximately 4,000 steps just once or twice weekly significantly lowered their risk of premature death by 26 per cent and heart disease by 27 per cent, compared to their more sedentary counterparts.

The study, featured in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, monitored 13,547 women, typically aged 72 and free from heart disease or cancer, over nearly 11 years.