As the Olympics captivated Australia, our national Fitbit users had already won Gold by taking two billion steps for the Heart Foundation as part of FitforGood.

In July, thousands of registered Fitbit users combined to reach the two billion steps target with a few days to spare.

This ensured the Heart Foundation received $100,000 from Fitbit through FitforGood, as well as more than $36,000 fundraised by participants.

We thank every walker for every step, including the thousands of steps taken by our Heart Foundation Walking group members.

Partaking in one hour of physical activity each day, such as brisk walking, could offset the risk of death of eight hours of sitting watching the Olympics.

It is disturbing that for a nation passionate about our sporting champions and home to spacious lands, only 43% of Australian adults were rated active enough for good health in a 2015 study with physical inactivity causing 14,000 deaths per year and costing the health budget an estimated $1.5 billion each year.

We need to emulate our champion Olympians with an active lifestyle to protect against disease and enjoy longer, healthier lives.

Through our partnership with Fitbit and FitforGood we’ve taken two billion steps in the right direction.