We so often hear that taking 10,000 steps a day is a healthy target for fitness and health. That number, however, can be traced back to Japanese walking clubs in the 1960's and a business slogan for pedometers sold under a name that translated to "10,000 steps meter."
It really was more of an educated guess than an arbitrary number or gimmick. If you translate into distance, 10,000 steps would be equal walking about 5 miles. Since that time, various studies have shown some merit to the 10,000 step target for "apparently healthy adults." That number, however, may be too low for children or too high for older adults or those living with a chronic condition.
More recent reviews have provided more guidelines and context:
- taking less than 5,000 steps/day is classified as sedentary
- taking 5,000-7,499 steps/day is classified as low active
- taking 7,500-9,999 steps/day is classified as somewhat active
- taking 10,000 or more steps/day is classified as active
- taking over 12,500 steps /day is classified as highly active
What has remained consistent with the information is that being more active during your day can offer significant health benefits and reduce your risk of chronic disease. As with any exercise guideline, however, it's important to be conscious of where you're starting from and to work gradually at increasing both time and intensity.
Pedometers were the first technology used to track steps but now there are countless high tech options including Fitbits, Misfits and Garmins along with websites and apps.
These can all be valuable tools for tracking your steps but it's so important to choose the motivation and reminders that work best for you. It's like using a scale - some people find it a great way to stay accountable while for someone else, it can be the demise of their day!
Whether you count steps or not, the more activity you can add INTO your day, the better. Dr. Len Kravitz, researcher from University of New Mexico is passionate about the importance of these "NEAT" movements (non-exercise activity thermogenesis). He notes that these little movements that take no more time out of our day can add up to 297-477 calories per day. That's equivalent to any full favourite 60-minute group exercise and almost double of the calories you might burn lifting weights in the gym for an hour!
So regardless of your fitness level, adding more daily activity can be beneficial for everyone. If time is your barrier, you can get the value of a full workout. If you're already working out and need to push past a plateau, it's a great way to burn more calories and vary your intensity and demands.
Daily activity tips (because they're always good to hear again!):
- park further from the office or store
- stand when you take a phone call
- walk and talk - on the phone or for a meeting
- walk to the furthest bathroom at your office
- stand up every time you take a drink of water
- squat or lunge while you're brushing your teeth
- walk on your breaks or lunch - even if it's for a few minutes
- do push-ups on the counter while you're waiting for your coffee
- play WITH your kids at the park instead of sitting on the sidelines
- bring your groceries in one bag at a time
- take each item upstairs instead of making a pile
- get up and move on every commercial
So all this research brings us back to some very simple points - eat well and move more. You hear it often, but my hope is this highlights how the little things you can do in your day really do add up.
If you have a specific question, visit - we'd love to hear from you. We also have a quick survey to find out your biggest challenges to help plan workouts and support for our new challenge starting September/October 2015.
