In this article I am going to discuss where the 10,000 steps per day target comes from and if it is a good target to aim for in a day. From what I can see, this number was first introduced back in 1965, when a Japanese company made a device named Manpo-kei, which translates to “10,000 steps meter.” The name was simply a marketing tool but for some reason has been left ingrained in our minds when it comes to the number of steps we should do per day.
The research behind 10,000 steps per day:
10,000 steps per day walking is approximately equivalent to 300 and 400 kcal/day of energy expenditure (depending on walking speed and body size). Although as you will later read this 10,000 step figure could be considered too high, there are still many studies that support this target. A study published in 2010 by Patel et al concluded that a 10,000 steps per day guideline was more effective than a 30 minutes per day walking for increasing the number of steps. A number of other studies have also shown the benefits of 10,000 steps per day for:
weight loss
maintenance of boss health.
Reduced systolic blood pressure
Improved body composition
Is there a better target?
So there are many positives to getting out and walking 10,000 steps, however emerging evidence also suggests the idea that potentially less steps will yield the same benefits.
A study looked at 16,741 women ages 62 to 101 (average age 72). Between 2011 and 2015, all participants wore tracking devices called accelerometers during waking hours. Key findings from the study include these:
Sedentary women averaged 2,700 steps a day.
Women who averaged 4,400 daily steps had a 41% reduction in mortality.
Mortality rates progressively improved before leveling off at approximately 7,500 steps per day
This study suggests you can reap benefits from 7,500 steps per day. That’s 25% fewer steps than the more common goal of 10,000 steps. These findings may serve as encouragement to the many sedentary individuals for whom 10, 000 steps per day pose an unattainable goal. This is the main reliable study concerning this area when comparing it to 10,000 steps, the main limitation to this study is the fact it was done on older women so whether it applies to the rest of the population remains the big question.
Conclusion:
10,000 steps per day is still a great target for the majority of the population to aim for to help stay physically active, however I would recommend 7,500 steps for overweight people or people looking to get into exercise as this is a more achievable goal initially. In the coming years when more research is done in this area this 10,000 step goal will likely change.
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