For six decades, we have been told that walking 10,000 steps a day is necessary for good health, but now experts say that walking 3 to 4,000 steps a day is enough, and people who do housework do even more. You can stay healthy by walking less.
It is one of those health messages that have been subconsciously embedded in our brains that 10,000 steps a day is necessary to lead a healthy life.
But the UK's National Health Service (NHS) says that three to four thousand steps a day is enough for the average citizen, and people who do housework can stay healthy by walking even less. are
New research from the London School of Economics (LSE) shows that walking 5,000 steps three times a week can add three years to your life. This news will be welcome to many as it now seems that there is finally something that most of us can easily achieve without any extra effort.
A third of people are currently considered inactive because they don't get 150 minutes of moderate exercise a week, equivalent to about 20 minutes a day, or 2,400 steps, contrary to government guidelines.
LSE research found that regular walking over two years increased life expectancy by two and a half years for physically inactive men and three years for inactive women.
In fact, its benefits were more pronounced in older people. People aged 65 years and older can reduce their risk of death by 72% if they walk 7,500 steps a few times a week.
Researchers also found that 55-year-olds with type 2 diabetes could reduce their risk of death by 40 percent if they started walking just 5,000 steps three times a week.
Add these new findings to another study published last week in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, which found that walking 4,000 steps a day reduced the risk of premature death by 20 percent, and that more than 2,200 a day. Walking improves their health and reduces the risk of death, so does this mean that the advice to walk 10,000 steps a day has always been a myth?
The number, 10,000 steps per day, originally came up in 1964 when a Japanese marketing campaign used the idea to promote a pedometer called the 'Menpo Kaye'. Menpo Kaye means '10 thousand steps' in Japanese. Since then it has become a global standard and a noble goal, but it is not the only amount of physical activity that provides benefits.
Steven Herridge, Professor of Human and Applied Physiology at King's College London, says: 'Although 10,000 steps can motivate people and motivate them to work harder towards a goal, when it comes to step counting and any activity If so, it is like a drug i.e. the effect of the drug depends on its dosage. In other words, the more you work, the better off you will be.'
In fact, since that Japanese expedition, researchers have been studying step counting for the past six decades. Research shows that doing something is better than nothing, but that doesn't mean 300 steps is better than 75 steps. You need a minimum standard of health.
Research in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that every step over 2,200 a day reduced the risk of heart disease and early death, with the lowest risk in people who walked between 9,000 and 10,500 a day. Walk the steps. The lowest risk of heart attack was found in those who walked about 9,700 steps a day.
There's also the concept of an 'activity set point,' which is the amount of activity you need to maintain your health, Herridge says.
According to him: 'As people get older it is likely that they will not need 10,000 steps and less will be enough for them.'
But intensity matters
If you are walking fast, you may need fewer steps. "Walking fast on an uphill surface is more beneficial than walking very slowly on a flat surface," says Professor Herridge.
In fact, Public Health England encourages people to aim for 10,000 steps a day. He also suggests that we should all aim to walk briskly for at least 10 minutes every day
A study published in November last year found that walking at a speed of three to four miles per hour can reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 24 percent. Walking at a speed of more than four miles per hour reduces this risk by 39 percent.
Dr Nicholas Berger, Senior Lecturer in Exercise Physiology at Teeside University, says many people see the 10,000 step target as unattainable and don't even bother trying. It is helpful to aim for minimal activity on low activity days.
A matter of sitting low
Dr. Berger says, "New research confirms that a person who wants to be cardiovascularly and metabolically healthy needs to walk between 9,000 and 10,500 steps per day, but that doesn't mean If you don't, you won't live long. If you are looking for a minimum daily step count, you can do this up to 4,000 steps and reap some of the benefits.
Like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and smoking, sitting for long periods of time is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease because it can cause fatty deposits in your arteries that can lead to a heart attack or stroke. Causes paralysis.
There is a difference between normal exercise sessions and daily activity that is measured in steps. The former is important for keeping your body and cardiovascular system healthy, but you need walking or general movement for your overall health.
He added: 'Our bodies are designed to work metabolically and you can achieve that just by walking. Muscles and bones need to be put under stress and the food you eat throughout the day needs to be metabolized and if you keep doing that your body will work well, you will develop metabolic diseases and cardiovascular diseases. The probability of happening will be less.
Cindy Joder, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, says that in fact, for heart health you need to minimize your sitting time.
He says: 'Like high blood pressure, high cholesterol and smoking, sitting for long periods of time is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease because it can cause fatty deposits to build up in your arteries. which leads to heart attack or stroke.'
In simple terms, the steps you take throughout the day keep your body's engine running, says Berger.
'Your muscles need oxygen and nutrients which obviously we get from food so they can work properly and then metabolically that means we don't become insulin resistant. Because movement helps us transport nutrients and energy from the blood to our muscles and use them. When you don't, your entire system suffers.
So how many steps should be taken?
If you want to live longer, stick to walking 5,000 steps a few times a week. Research suggests just 10 minutes—about 1,000 steps—can make you feel better for improving mood.
But for goals like weight loss, up to that famous number of 10,000 steps is necessary. According to research, people who lost more than 10 percent of their weight in 18 months stuck to walking 10,000 steps a day.
If heart health is your priority, one study found doing something is better than doing nothing. A 2023 study by the American Heart Association found that every additional 500 steps taken in the over-70s reduces the risk of heart disease, stroke or heart failure by 14 percent.
In addition, adults who walk just 4,500 steps per day are 77 percent less likely to have a heart attack than those who walk less than 2,000 steps per day.
Herridge says: 'If you can't walk fast to the bus stop or walk up the stairs at a fast pace, walk a little further. If you can't reach your distance goal, increase the intensity, or better yet, do both, but don't get tired of walking 10,000 steps a day. Just walk a little more today than yesterday, if only one step.
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