Nina Sarkar, a 42-year-old content editor, was the odd one out in her team. Paired with colleagues much younger, her initial thoughts about not completing her office fitness challenge of 10,000 steps daily were that she wasn’t fit enough!
But was she unfit, or for that matter, many adults who cannot finish the 10,000-step benchmark, unhealthy? That is the truth we’d like to uncover in our blog.
Where did the world get the 10,000 steps number from?
The New York Times quotes that the 10,000 steps was more of a marketing accident than a fact based on science.
“The idea of walking 10,000 steps a day comes from a hugely successful marketing campaign launched ahead of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. The number was chosen because the Japanese character for 10,000 resembles a person walking, and the idea caught on.
This brilliant ad campaign saw a relatively arbitrary number become the global standard for step tracking. It’s important to remember that this number doesn’t apply to everyone”, says the Nuffield Health website.
What do the experts say?
According to experts, research has indicated valuable benefits of 10,000 steps daily.
- Studies reveal that 9,800 steps a day can lower the risk of dementia by almost 50% and can significantly reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression.
- The number can decrease knee pain and joint pain in people who are dealing with arthritis.
- For every 2000 steps taken, the risk of premature death reduces considerably.
- The 10,000 steps decreases the risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer, and heart failure.
- People who walk around 10,000 steps have more mental clarity and experience more creativity.
But then, if walking 10,000 steps daily has so many benefits, why are we even talking about it here?
Let’s circle back to the pertinent question of whether people like Nina Sarkar are fit and healthy if they don’t take the recommended number of steps.
Are 10,000 steps important?
According to Dr. I-Min Lee, a professor of epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and an expert on step counts and health, a 2019 study by her and colleagues revealed that found that women in their 70s who walked around 4,400 steps a day faced a lesser risk of premature death. While the chances of premature death kept reducing with the number of steps, they plateaued at the number 7500.
In another study, which involved 5000 men and women, researchers found that 10,000 steps were not a necessity for longevity. The same goes for weight loss. Though walking 10,000 steps a day has been associated with weight loss, it’s not required and shouldn’t be viewed as something mandatory to lose weight. High-intensity exercises burn more calories over a shorter period, and result in fewer steps and movement.
The conclusion is that though the 10,000 steps hold multiple benefits for people, reaching that milestone may not be a guarantee for protection against dying young, weight loss, or other diseases.
Hence, the ones who cannot get to the 10,000-step summit have no reason to panic.
What is the recommended number of steps?
A 2011 scientific journal article found that people under the age of 18 tend to average anywhere between 10,000 and 16,000 steps per day. The National Health Service (NHS) advises that children aged between 5 and 18 need at least 60 minutes of aerobic activity daily, and a good way to track their level of activity would be to check the amount of time they spend outdoors playing.
Studies show that the average adult males take approximately 5430 steps daily, while women hover around 4912. If these numbers are taken into account, jumping to 10,000 would mean doubling the number of steps and a lofty goal to achieve and keep up.
Experts suggest that people should refrain from aiming for extremes when they begin their exercise routine. E.g.- One cannot walk into a gym and aim straight for the heaviest weights. Building body strength is a gradual process, and the age, experience, ability, as well as the overall physical health and lifestyle of a person, have to be considered. It is advisable for a person who already walks 7000 steps to do 3000 more, but for a person who does 5000 steps cannot push for another 5000 more.
Additionally, according to the formal physical activity guidelines issued by the United States and other governments, time is used as a parameter rather than steps. They suggest 150 minutes a week for exercising or half an hour every day. This, in addition to the other physical activity that people do throughout the day, like moving around, taking stairs, etc., which usually should amount to 2000 to 3000 steps daily. Ten minutes of brisk walking per day helps increase heart rate and sets the tone for more intense exercises later.
For older people with chronic health conditions that lead to limited mobility, 5500 steps per day are recommended by the National Institutes of Health (NIH)
10,000 steps is not an examination that people have to clear and pass for the future. The idea is to listen to your body and take the next best steps that will lead you to a healthier and happier life for many years to follow.
