Is 10,000 steps a day good for your health?
10, 000 steps is not a universal medical requirement but potentially may motivate you to increase the number of steps you take, walking more and incorporating more movement in your life. The goal is really to find movement habits that are practical and sustainable for an individual.
The 10 000 step target originated in Japan in 1965, when a pedometer called the Manpo-kei, meaning “10,000-step meter,” was marketed to encourage people to walk more. It was not a threshold established by a clinical trial. However, we know that walking has many health benefits.
Dr Angela Rai, GP
General Practitioner & Medicines Management Lead
MBBS, BSc, MRCGP, DCH, DRCOG, Dip Cardiology,
PGCert Anti-ageing Medicine (Distinction)
10,000 Paces a day: The Facts
- There are observational studies that found health outcomes showed a curve that began to flatten at approximately 5,000–7,000 daily steps a day. However, it also showed that that compared with 2000 steps a day, 7000 steps were associated with a lower risk of all-cause mortality. Interpreting this we know that some people will benefit from more than 7000 steps a day, and others less. Increasing your step number and moving away from a sedentary lifestyle should be priority. Therefore, the starting point plays a factor and increasing by 2000-4000 steps a day is a valuable first increase for someone with a fairly sedentary lifestyle. Moving to 4000-7000 has substantial health benefits and for those that can manage the additional exercise 7000-10000 steps is a reasonable goal for someone that is able and enjoys the activity.
- The relationship between step count and age does vary but there are no precise numbers. In a large metanalysis in 2022 it was found that mortality risk levelled off around 6000-8000 steps per day in adults over 60 when compared with 8000-10 000 in younger adults. What’s important to establish is that it’s not just the number of steps but also functional capacity, maintaining muscle and bone strength, balance, mobility and independence.
- Pace does have an impact and walking briskly increases the cardiovascular demand on the body. This can over time improve cardiorespiratory fitness, blood pressure regulation and the body’s ability to use oxygen.
- Walking is a low impact cardiovascular exercise, it improves circulation, cardiovascular efficiency, trains the heart, burns calories, works the muscles, can improve insulin sensitivity, improves blood glucose regulation, and may help with sleep and stress.
- A 20–40-minute walk can help you sustain a moderate intensity long enough to train your cardiovascular system. Shorter walks throughout the day make it easier to accumulate activity and interrupt long periods of sitting. The main thing is to find a pattern you can sustain. If one longer walk fits your life better, that is valuable. If several short walks are more realistic, they count too.
- They have different effects on the body, ideally long periods of sitting should be avoided by standing, stretching or moving, this can help protect your muscles and in particular your spinal health, brief opportunities of movements help when sitting at a desk for long periods. Even small breaks of movement, stretching, breathing help.
- Biological age is affected by several factors- exercise, movement and muscle health is extremely important for improving overall vitality and health. Exercise has been shown to be a powerful intervention to help improve your biological age, even walking, however it is difficult to measure just the impact of walking on biological age as so many factors have a part to play, musculoskeletal health, nutrition, sleep, stress etc
- This should be done gradually and taking health status into account and other comorbidities. There are benefits in increasing movement and exercise but must be taken with a sensible approach rather than just jumping straight up to 10000 steps a day. Build gradually and comfortably. Someone who is frail, has significant joint pain, has a history of falls or has a heart or lung condition may need a slower progression or individual advice. If walking causes chest pain, faintness or unusual breathlessness, stop and seek medical advice; severe or persistent symptoms warrant urgent assessment. The most important principle is to increase activity in a way that can be repeated week after week. A modest improvement maintained for years is more valuable than an ambitious target abandoned after a short while.
- Consistent (even small) daily habits change your health trajectory over time. Move more than you do today!