Why 10,000 steps a day is a Fake Target

Why are 10,000 steps a day the magic number, it was the default when I set up my fitness tracker, and I have seen people walking around the block, just to get their numbers up. Read on and learn the real reason behind 10,000 steps a day.

This is a review of a piece I read that covers a study, out of the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, looking into the real number of steps per day needed to help prevent cardiovascular disease.

Many would agree that it’s a worthy, healthy goal to take 10,000 steps each day, 10,000 is the go-to number that everyone now seems to use as “the” standard. Much like the phrase “breakfast is the most important meal of the day.” This neither came from doctors, physical trainers or nutritionists. It was a cereal company, one of many who are now contribute massively to the epidemic of childhood obesity in the world.

Where did 10,000 steps come from? In the mid-1960’s, Japanese marketers were trying to sell a pedometer named it Manpokei, which generally translates to “10,000 step-meter” in English. The Japanese character for “10,000” very roughly resembles a person walking. So, it’s more of a marketing gimmick than a medical fact, much like breakfast cereal.

Assistant Professor Amanda Paluch, from the School of Public Health and Health Sciences at the University of Massachusetts said, “It’s a nice clean number and it makes a good marketing message. You can see why it stuck. But there was not a lot of science behind it.”

Professor Amanda Paluch is the lead researcher of a meta-analysis looking at the link between how many steps people take per day and cardiovascular disease. It reinforces the premise that while there’s no ‘one’ magic number when it comes to steps, in that, any random number could technically be healthier than the one below it.

Professor Paluch’s team analyzed seven previous studies whose participants wore step counters and tracked their cardiovascular health. The research encompassed 16,906 adults whose incidence of heart disease, heart failure or stroke was monitored for a median period of just over six years.

Professor Paluch explained that “We brought all these studies together for a large diverse sample, what we’re seeing is that the more steps you do, the more benefit you get.”

Professor Paluch’s team divided the participants into four groups based on their median number of daily steps: 1,951; 3,823; 5,685; and 9,487. The risk of cardiovascular disease fell as the number of steps increased. The most active group had less than half the number of cardiovascular disease events than the least active, 243 events versus 491 cardiovascular disease events.

Possessor Paluch said that “The message is to move more, don’t get caught up in 10,000 or any other number. It is not an all or nothing situation for cardiovascular health benefits. Just getting incremental increases in your steps could be meaningful in your cardiovascular health.”

Dr. Felipe Lobelo, Heads of the Emory University’s Exercise is Medicine Global Research and Collaboration Center in Atlanta, said “We knew that more walking is associated with better health outcomes, but this specific outcome — incidence of cardiovascular disease — makes it stronger.”

Dr. Lobelo, mention that the meta-analysis was also significant because it used step counters to measure activity accurately, he said “In previous studies, most of the evidence we have is from self-reporting exercise; we all tend to overestimate what we do.”

The next step regarding steps, Paluch said, is to look at how much “the intensity” of exercise matters and the health benefits beyond cardiovascular considerations, she said “We want to look at other outcomes, like mental health and cancers. There are many ways physical activity works on the body, and that makes it a great tool for promoting our health and staying healthier for longer.”

At present the US Federal physical activity guidelines urge adults to sit less, move more, and to accumulate at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity each week; just under 22 minutes a day.

Dr Lobelo, broke down the US requirement by saying “This research shows that the number of steps we should be striving for to generate benefits for cardiovascular disease is lower than 10,000, maybe between 5,000 and 6,000 steps per day, which is pretty much the equivalent of 150 minutes per week.”

Processor Paluch closed by saying, “For many people the figure of 10,000 can be intimidating, no matter how appropriate it may be for a marketing campaign. If you’re not there, don’t become overwhelmed and throw in the towel. Think about progressive improvements and working them into your lifestyle and your schedule. Park farther from the store. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. The great thing about steps is we can fit them into our daily lives.”