According to Lauren Bedosky of Everyday Health, the goal of 10,000 steps per day has inspired a wide range of movement challenges and is still considered as the default setting on many fitness trackers. Perhaps, reaching that daily goal which is roughly 5 miles is part of your personal wellness routine. But does walking 10,000 steps per day make a difference in our overall health? Or is it just another fitness craze, or something more?
Thom Rieck of Mayo Clinic stated that the average American walks 3,000 to 4,000 steps per day or 1.5 to 2 miles. It's a good idea to determine your current daily step count as a baseline. Then, every two weeks, aim to add 1,000 extra steps to your daily total until you reach your goal of 10,000 steps. If you already walk more than 10,000 steps per day, or if you're physically active and trying to lose weight, you should increase your daily step goal. Why should you set a daily step goal? We are all aware that walking is a form of exercise that is accessible to all of us. Except for some supportive walking shoes, no special equipment is required. Walking, as a regular form of exercise can help reduce your risk of common health problems such as heart disease, obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, and depression.
The 10,000-step goal, which many of us believe is based on science as a coincidence and sticky history rather than research according to Gretchen Reynolds of the New York Times. The 10,000-steps goal became popular in Japan in the 1960s, according to Dr. I-Min Lee, a professor of epidemiology at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and an expert on step counts and health. To capitalize on the growing interest in fitness following the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games, a clockmaker mass-produced a pedometer with a name that, when written in Japanese characters, resembled a walking man. It was also translated as “10,000 steps creating a walking goal that embedded in our global consciousness over the years”.
One of the most recent studies on the benefits of 10,000 steps per day was published in JAMA Internal Medicine in May 2019. What is the goal? To determine whether taking more daily steps is associated with a lower risk of death in older women. More than 16,500 women aged 62 to 101 (average age 72) from the United States participated in the study. Women in the Women's Health Study wore a step counter during the day for at least four days. Their devices tracked the total number of steps they took per day as well as the intensity of those steps. Researchers checked in with the women four years later to see how they were doing.
Researchers discovered that women who walked 4,400 steps per day had a 41% lower mortality rate than sedentary women who walked 2,700 steps per day. Mortality rates decreased progressively as more steps were taken before plateauing at 7,500 steps per day — 25% fewer steps than the common goal of 10,000 steps. Furthermore, after controlling for total steps per day, researchers found no clear link between stepping intensity and lower mortality rates. According to Dr. Min Lee and his colleagues' research, increasing our current step counts by even a few thousand extra strides most days could be a reasonable, sufficient — and achievable — goal.
The bottom line is that counting steps may assist you in staying on top of your physical activity and reducing your sitting time. According to Lauren Bedosky, you don't have to aim for 10,000 steps, but as you get used to counting your steps, you may be able to identify times during the day when you can squeeze in extra movement. Every week, aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity, such as brisk walking, or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity, such as running, or an equivalent combination of the two. Don't forget to do at least two full-body strength workouts per week. Most importantly, have fun with the process. Find activities that you enjoy and remember to appreciate what your body can do so.
PNFP Marie-Claire Gaas
References:
1. The Last Word: Do You Really Need to Take 10,000 Steps a Day?
By Lauren Bedosky Medically Reviewed by Justin Laube, MD. Reviewed: January 12, 2022
https://www.everydayhealth.com/fitness/the-last-word-do-you-really-need-to-take-10-000-steps-a-day/
2. 10,000 steps a day: Too low? Too high?
By Thom Rieck
https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/in-depth/10000-steps/art-20317391
3. Do We Really Need to Take 10,000 Steps a Day for Our Health?
By Gretchen Reynolds, Published July 6, 2021, Updated Sept. 15, 2021
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/06/well/move/10000-steps-health.html
4. Association of Step Volume and Intensity with All-Cause Mortality in Older Women
I-Min Lee, Eric J Shiroma, Masamitsu Kamada, David R Bassett, Charles E Matthews, Julie E Buring
