For years, hitting 10,000 steps a day has been seen as the gold standard for staying healthy and keeping weight under control.

But growing evidence suggests the benefits of walking begin well below that target and may even plateau before reaching 10,000 steps.

Now, scientists say around 8,500 daily steps could help dieters stop any lost weight creeping back on.

The findings challenge the long-held belief that 10,000 daily steps are essential for maintaining a healthy weight. 

Research presented at this year's European Congress on Obesity in Istanbul, Turkey, suggests that walking roughly 8,500 steps a day may help people maintain weight loss after dieting. 

The study, published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, was carried out by researchers in Italy and Lebanon.

Professor Marwan El Ghoch, from the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia in Italy, said: 'The most important - and greatest - challenge when treating obesity is preventing weight regain.

'Around 80 per cent of people with overweight or obesity who initially lose weight tend to put some or all of it back on again within three to five years.

'Identifying a strategy that could help people maintain their new weight would be of huge clinical value.'

Researchers conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis examining whether increasing daily step counts helped people lose weight and keep it off. 

Eighteen randomised controlled trials were included in the review, with 14 studies involving 3,758 people included in the final meta-analysis.

Participants, who had an average age of 53 and an average BMI of 31, came from countries including the UK, US, Australia and Japan.

The studies compared 1,987 people taking part in lifestyle modification programmes with 1,771 people who were either dieting alone or receiving no treatment.

The lifestyle programmes included dietary advice alongside recommendations to walk more and track daily step counts.

Researchers measured participants' daily steps at the start of the studies, after the weight-loss phase, which lasted an average of 7.9 months, and again after the maintenance phase, which averaged 10.3 months.

At the beginning of the studies, both groups were walking a similar number of steps each day, suggesting they had broadly similar lifestyles.

The control group did not significantly increase their activity levels or lose weight. 

In contrast, those in the lifestyle modification group increased their daily step count to an average of 8,454 by the end of the weight-loss phase.

They also lost an average of 4.39 per cent of their body weight - roughly 4kg or 8.6lbs.

Participants largely maintained those higher activity levels during the maintenance phase, averaging 8,241 daily steps by the end of the trials.

They also managed to keep off most of the weight they had lost, maintaining an average weight loss of 3.28 per cent - around 3kg (6.6lbs).

Further analysis showed a clear link between increasing step counts and reducing weight regain.

Researchers found it was particularly important for participants to raise their activity levels during the weight-loss phase and maintain them afterwards.

Interestingly, taking more daily steps was not linked to greater weight loss during dieting itself.

Researchers said this may be because factors such as calorie intake play a bigger role during the initial weight-loss stage.

Professor El Ghoch said lifestyle modification programmes could produce meaningful long-term weight loss.

He added: 'Participants should always be encouraged to increase their step count to approximately 8,500 a day during the weight-loss phase and sustain this level of physical activity during the maintenance phase to help prevent weight regain.

'Increasing the number of steps walked to 8,500 each day is a simple and affordable strategy to prevent weight regain.'

Independent experts have previously stressed that walking alone is unlikely to be a 'magic bullet' for weight loss, noting that diet quality, sleep and overall activity levels also play important roles in maintaining a healthy weight.

Walking at a brisk pace is also thought to provide greater cardiovascular benefits than simply focusing on total step count.