How Many Steps Do We Really Need to Take Each Day?
And the origins of the 10,000 steps per day guideline.
We’ve all heard the advice to take 10,000 steps each day.
It’s what our wearables are pre-set at, it’s what your friends are aiming for, it’s what all the magazine articles are saying. But do we really need to take 10,000 steps? Should we be taking more? Or less?
Here, I’m going to break down the latest science to answer these questions.
The Research
First, let’s have a look at the origin of the 10,000 steps guideline.
The guideline to take 10,000 steps each day actually came from the marketing campaign for a Japanese pedometer, a few decades ago. However, it seems to have stuck.
But recently, an ongoing study from 2005 has revealed how many steps we actually need to take to lower our risk of death.
The researchers took a group of 2100 participants between the ages of 38 and 50, and got them to wear a pedometer for 11 years. The data has just been analyzed this year. Here’s what they found.
Taking at least 7000 steps per day decreases the risk of death from all causes by 50–70%.
One of the researchers, Amanda Paulsch, explains,
“You see this gradual risk reduction in mortality as you get more steps. There were substantial health benefits between 7,000 and 10,000 steps but we didn’t see an additional benefit from going beyond 10,000 steps. For people at 4,000 steps, getting to 5,000 is meaningful. And from 5,000 to 6,000 steps, there is an incremental risk reduction in all-cause mortality up to about 10,000 steps."
What You Can Do
Everybody is different, and each of us will have both a different ability and a different requirement for steps.
Therefore, you’re going to need to pay attention to your body and how you respond. For some, 10,000 steps might not feel like a whole lot. But for others, 7000 steps is a stretch.
Keep in mind that this study was conducted with people under the age of 50, who were otherwise in good health.
But the key takeaway is to aim for as close to 10,000 steps as you can, each day. Beyond 10,000 steps, there don’t seem to be any added benefits.
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