Do we really need to take 10,000 steps a day?

We all know that regular walking has a variety of health benefits, including reducing our risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes as well as depression. Best of all, it's free, we can easily fit it into our daily routines.

We often hear 10,000 as the golden number of steps to strive for in a day. But do we really need to take 10,000 steps a day?

Not necessarily. The figure was initially formulated in Japan in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, and it's gone on to become a target for millions of people of all ages. There was no real evidence to support this target. Rather, it was a marketing strategy to sell step counters. But if it gets you walking more, it might be a good goal to work towards.

Based on accumulated evidence, many physical activity guidelines around the world, recommend a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity a week. this equates to 30 minutes on most days. A half hour of activity corresponds to about 3,000 to 4,000 dedicated steps at a moderate pace.

However, most studies do find taking more steps associated with better heath outcomes. For example an American study from 2010 found a 10% reduction in the occurrence of metabolic syndrome (a collection of conditions that increase your risk of diabetes, heart disease and stoke) for each 1,000- step increase per day.

An Australian study from 2015 demonstrated that 1,000-step increase per day reduce the risk of dying prematurely of any cause by 6%, with those taking 10,000 or more steps having a 46% lower risk of early death. A similar study done in America in 2020, also found that people who walked for 8,000-steps each day where half as likely to die prematurely from heart disease than those who took just 4,000 steps.

Another Australian study from 2017 showed people with increasingly higher step counts spent less time in hospital.

So the bottom line is the more steps, the better!

Increasing your activity levels, through increasing your daily steps count is great for our health and striving for 10,000 steps is just one way of doing this.

Let's tie our shoes and keep walking for better health.