There is a belief in society that the key to a long and healthy life begins with 10,000 steps, and this must be done every day. However, as a result of a study by scientists, it turned out that this information was almost completely wrong.
By analyzing data on tens of thousands of people on four continents, compiled from 15 experiments, a research team has now come up with a more reasonable figure: Depending on your age, the optimal number of steps you should take is close to 6,000 steps per day, not 10,000.
‘Taking too many steps may increase risk of death’
University of Massachusetts Amherst epidemiologist Amanda Paluch explains: That is, as the number of steps increases, the risk of death decreases. this is not the case. This indicates different step counts in young and old people. In fact, taking so many steps for certain age groups can increase the risk of death.
It’s human nature to roam. Evolution has adapted our physiology to walk long distances accordingly, adjusting it to easily dissipate heat throughout our body as we move back and forth in search of food and water. This means that our metabolisms, cardiovascular fitness, the impact on our bones and muscles, and even our mental health are adjusted to require a good walk. Squeezing any walk into our busy daily schedule helps us live longer, healthier and happier lives.
For those with no time or motivation, this is easier said than done, so tech companies have developed small devices and even apps that help us keep track of the number of steps we take each day. However, the data show that not adjusting this step number to suit our body causes more harm than good.
Why was it called 10k steps then?
Half a century ago, Yamasa Watch and Instrument Company in Japan tried to profit from the 1964 Tokyo Olympics by producing a pedometer they called ‘Manpo-kei’. This word means ’10 thousand steps’. So why 10 thousand? The explanation is simple: Marketing. It’s a nice, round number that sounds tedious enough to be a goal but attainable enough to be worth the effort. Unfortunately, this has no scientific basis.
Last year Paluch and his team published research based on a group of more than 2,000 middle-aged individuals living across the United States. They found that taking at least 7,000 steps a day reduced the chance of premature death by 50 to 70 percent.
The team’s most recent analysis included information gathered on health and step counts from 47,471 adults from Asia, Australia, Europe and North America. The researchers found that the 25 percent of adults who took the most steps each day were 40 to 53 percent less likely to die with step counts, compared to 25 percent of those who took the fewest steps.
For adults aged 60 and over, the maximum number of steps to be taken should be between 6 thousand and 8 thousand, thus reducing the actual risk of death. Of course, taking extra steps by pushing harder can have other benefits, but reducing the risk of death is not one of them.
The study conducted for this purpose revealed that it may be good for younger people to walk a little more. However, the aim of young people walking is not to increase life expectancy by walking more than 8 thousand to 10 thousand steps a day, but to develop muscle and fitness.
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