Fitness trackers like step counters, Fitbit smartwatches, and smartphone apps help people reach the recommended 10,000 steps daily, although this goal is based on coincidence rather than scientific research.
Is the 10,000-step target based on science?
According to Dr. I-Min Lee, a professor of epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, the 10,000-step target became popular in Japan in the 1960s. A Japanese company hoped to capitalize on an interest in fitness after the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games.
The company mass-produced a pedometer called “Manpo-kei” that, when written in Japanese characters, resembled a walking man and translates as “10,000 steps meter”.This created a number representing the target steps per day that became embedded in the global consciousness and fitness trackers.
This Japanese marketing campaign set a goal of 10,000 steps per day, but new research offers another goal. Today’s best science suggests we do not need to take 10,000 steps a day, about five miles, for our health and longevity.
A study by Dr. Lee, an expert on step counts and health, and her colleagues found that women in their 70s who walked 4,400 steps daily reduced their risk of premature death by about 40 percent. This is compared to women completing 2,700 or fewer steps a day.
The risks for early death continued to drop among women walking more than 5,000 steps a day but plateaued at about 7,500 daily steps. This research shows that a step count increase is advantageous to a woman’s health up to a certain point.
A more expansive study of almost 5000 middle-aged men and women of various ethnicities also found that walking 10,000 steps daily is not required for longevity. Those who walked about 8,000 steps a day were half as likely to die prematurely from heart disease or any other cause as those who accumulated 4,000 steps per day.
Dr. Lee said increasing our current step count by even a few thousand additional strides most days could be a reasonable, sufficient, and achievable goal.
What is the magic number of steps we need per day?
A 2019 Harvard Medical School study gave nearly 17,000 older women with an average age of 72 a device that counted every step during waking hours for seven consecutive days. The number of people who died over the next four years was compared in four groups, each with an increasing average number of steps per day.
Rigorous statistical techniques were used to account for the influence of things other than activity level that might have affected the women’s risk of dying, like diseases they might have had.
The researchers concluded that people who walked about 7,500 steps per day had a lower risk of death, about 40% lower than the least active group. Above 7,500 steps, there was not a clear additional benefit. Also, the intensity of the steps (how fast one walked) did not bring additional benefits.
A study in JAMA Internal Medicine found that older females who took between 4,400 and 7,500 steps per day experienced a lower mortality rate than those who took under 2,700 steps daily.
The research shows the ideal number of daily steps for women is 7,500.
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Does the number of steps per day change with age?
Studies have demonstrated that the average daily number of steps a person takes may fluctuate with age:
- A study in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine found that adults who took part in an activity challenge walked an average of 6,886 steps per day.
- Younger adults and children may take more steps per day. A 2011 article in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity found that people under 18 may take daily steps.
- Older adults may vary more than other groups. The International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity notes that otherwise healthy older adults may average 2,000–9,000 steps daily.
What are the benefits of walking?
Walking is an inexpensive and readily available form of physical activity that is great for both physical and mental health.
Regular physical activity builds muscle strength and endurance and assists with weight loss. It may also play a role in preventing chronic conditions such as:
- coronary heart disease
- type 2 diabetes
- obesity
- high blood pressure
- osteoporosis
- high cholesterol
- depression
- anxiety
- Alzheimer’s disease
Walking poses little risk of injury compared with other high-impact forms of activity, like aerobic exercise. And it does not require special equipment or clothing to engage in it.
How can I increase my daily step goals?
The physical activity guidelines provided by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommend 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity exercise, such as brisk walking. Initially, you don’t have to jump in feet-first with that as the goal.
Start where you are and gradually increase your physical activity and daily step goals week by week. It’s not a contest; it’s all about the health benefits.
What if my walking pace doesn’t qualify as moderate-intensity exercise? To start, any steps you take can prevent health problems that result from a sedentary lifestyle. Adding any regular activity to your routine is beneficial.
Try these ideas to add extra steps to your walking routine:
- Take the dog for a walk. If you don’t have a dog, volunteer to walk dogs at the local shelter or join a friend to walk their dog.
- Add music to your walk. Your favorite tunes can help motivate you to walk farther and faster, which is certainly more enjoyable.
- Include friends or family. Instead of planning an indoor get-together, go for a walk or hike.
- Engage face-to-face. Instead of sending a work email, walk to your coworker’s desk.
- Walk while waiting. Take a walk instead of sitting when you’re early for an appointment or waiting for a flight.
- Schedule walks during the workday. Take a short walk on a lunch break. Instead of a one-on-one meeting in the office, plan to walk and talk.
- Choose parking spots farther away from the entrance. If you take the bus, get off a stop early and walk the rest of the way.
- Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Whether you’re going up or down the stairway, it’s still about the step count.
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