How many steps do we actually need a day?
The 10 000 steps a day mark is a nice round number conceived as a marketing slogan in the 1960s. The Japanese company’s marketing campaign to sell pedometers was wildly successful. The magic number has endured to this day. People around the world check their step-tracking apps in the hopes of hitting the target. For context, 10 000 steps works out to about 8 km.
Is less more?
But now a research team led by the University of Sydney in Australia claims that thousands of steps fewer are very achievable, more easily incorporated into people’s lifestyles, and best of all – they could still reap major health rewards. The findings were published in ‘The Lancet Public Health’(opens in new window). The researchers analysed 57 studies involving 160 000 adults. The results revealed that 7 000 steps daily reduces the risk of dying early by nearly half and leads to big benefits in conditions such as heart health, dementia and depression, among others. Specifically, there was a 38 % lower risk of dementia, a 25 % reduction in cardiovascular disease and 28 % fewer falls. Risks for depression (22 %) and type 2 diabetes (14 %) also dropped. Even walking from 2 000 to 4 000 steps every day results in noticeable improvements. “We have this perception we should be doing 10,000 steps a day, but it’s not evidence based,” lead study author Melody Ding, professor of public health at the University of Sydney, told the ‘BBC’(opens in new window). “More than 7k doesn’t do harm, and may even offer some additional benefits,” she told ‘CNN’(opens in new window).
Getting one step ahead
The study could get more of us to track our steps as a practical measure in boosting health. In an article in ‘The Guardian’(opens in new window), Ding explained that it’s OK to step things down – if needed. “Those who are currently active and achieving the 10,000 steps a day, keep up the good work – there is no need to modify your step counts. However, for those of us who are far from achieving the 10,000 targets, getting to 7,000 steps/day offers almost comparable health benefits for the outcomes we examined.” Daniel Bailey, director of the Centre for Physical Activity in Health and Disease at Brunel University of London, welcomes research that finally challenges the 10 000 steps per day mantra for ideal health. “The real-world implications are that people can get health benefits just from small increases in physical activity, such as doing an extra 1,000 steps per day. To achieve the best reductions in risk, aiming for 5,000-7,000 per day can be recommended, which will be more achievable for many people than the unofficial target of 10,000 steps that has been around for many years.” According to a University of Sydney news item(opens in new window), the research team is collaborating with the Australian government to use the study findings in updating future physical activity guidelines. “Our research helps to shift the focus from perfection to progress. Even small increases in daily movement can lead to meaningful health improvements,” commented Ding.