It’s fall. It’s the perfect season for outdoor activities. Walking is the most accessible exercise for anyone. Most people will take the time to do it. What is the ‘optimal number of steps to get the most benefit’?
The first number that comes to mind is 1000 steps a day. This is one of the most common goals worldwide. However, scientists advise against obsessing over this goal. The common figure suggested by many studies that have tried to find the most effective number of steps for health benefits is between 7,000 and 8,000 steps.
It is generally accepted that the reason ‘10,000 steps a day’ became the ideal goal for people who walk is a marketing strategy for a pedometer made by a Japanese company in 1965. It is said that the company promoted walking 10,000 steps a day as being healthy, based on the fact that the character ‘万’, an abbreviation for ‘ten thousand’, resembles a person walking. There is no scientific evidence to support this.
This number became the ‘global standard’. Many fitness trackers (activity measurement devices) that came out afterward presented this as a basic goal. People accepted it as an attractive goal because it felt full and was an easy-to-remember number.
10,000 steps is not an easy number to take. It usually takes about 1 hour and 30 minutes.
In recent years, there has been a lot of research analyzing the correlation between the number of steps and health. When focusing on the risk of death from cardiovascular disease, many studies have proven that most benefits can be seen at around 7,000 steps.
Last year, research results from a slightly different perspective were published.
An international study led by the University of Granada in Spain suggested 8,000 steps, saying it was the “first scientific evidence on how much you need to walk a day to significantly reduce your risk of premature death.” Considering the average human stride (76 cm for men and 67 cm for women), walking 8,000 steps is equivalent to moving about 6.4 km a day.
In a study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, researchers found that walking speed provided additional benefits, with faster walking being better than slower walking.
A meta-analysis published in the same year in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology found that the minimum number of steps needed to “significantly” reduce all-cause mortality was 3,867 steps per day.
What both studies have in common is that while the more you walk the better for improving your health, at some point the effectiveness drops off significantly.
“If you want to get the best benefit for your time invested, you’ve already gotten most of the gains at 8,000 steps, after which there are only small or gradual gains,” Dr. Elo Aguirre, a professor of exercise science at the University of Alabama in the US and an expert in the field who conducted the related research, told the Independent.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends about 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity physical activity per week, which translates to 7,000 to 8,000 steps per day.
“The 10,000-step goal is very common, and there’s no harm in doing so since walking more is always better than walking less,” says Dr. Aguiar, but he also emphasizes that each individual should set their own goal based on their circumstances.
“If someone walks 4,000 to 5,000 steps on a regular basis, recommending 10,000 steps a day would mean doubling their activity level, which could be problematic or demotivating,” he explained. “Instead, it’s better to gradually increase your daily activity level, eventually reaching a goal of walking more than 8,000 steps a day.”
If you already walk more than 10,000 steps a day, you may not need to increase this number any further. If you have the time and want to build more stamina, you can enjoy additional benefits by combining it with other high-intensity exercises, such as running to increase aerobic capacity or strength training to build muscle and improve bone density. However, if you sit at your desk all day and have difficulty finding time to move, walking can be a good way to increase your activity level and improve your sedentary lifestyle. If you gradually increase your step count to reach 8,000 steps a day, you can enjoy the so-called best ‘cost-effectiveness’.
Reporter Park Hae-sik, Donga.com [email protected]
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2024-09-26 08:12:22