The 10000 steps a day myth

Mindy D · ‎05-23-2010

When the same story gets told over and over and over again people, even experts tend to believe it’s true. For years, there’s been a claim that taking 10000 steps a day is what is necessary for good health, but what evidence is this advice based on? This advice can be seen on the Fitbit and other fitness trackers and has been given by well-established health and medicine providers and their web sites and publications. The history of the 10000 steps can be traced back to Japan, in 1965, where the first pedometer was invented and marketed to the Japanese people. The myth probably stems from the name of the pedometer, the Manpo-kei, which translates to ‘10000 steps meter.’ The company used the slogan, “Let’s walk 10000 steps a day.” The name lead to the assumption that 10000 steps was necessary for good health and this spread around the world based on nothing but marketing. There are no good studies showing that 10000 steps a day is optimal for good health.

Recently, a study of how many steps would benefit older women was published in the “Journal of the American a Medical Association.” The average age of women in the study was 72. The study found that older women reaped benefits at 4400 steps per day as opposed to women in the study group that took 2700 steps per day. There was no benefit in walking over 7500 steps per day. Meaning “More steps taken per day are associated with lower mortality rates until approximately 7500 steps/d.”

“More specifically, women who took 4,400 steps per day had better outcomes, including longevity, than women who took less than 2,700 steps per day.The women included in the study, published Wednesday in JAMA Internal Medicine, averaged 72 in age.Its findings could help improve women's health by pointing women to a more realistic goal to achieve, like 4,000 steps a day, or between one and two miles.”

Original study is linked in above paragraph.

Articles about the 10000 steps a day myth:

https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2019/05/10000-steps-rule/590785/

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/sep/03/watch-your-step-why-the-10000-daily-goal-is-bui...

https://www.aarp.org/health/healthy-living/info-2019/7500-steps-daily-is-enough.html

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2739495

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2019/05/29/727943418/do-you-really-need-10-000-steps-per-d...

Venezia · ‎03-09-2010

I see nothing that indicates people should discount the idea of 10,000 steps. The only comment I saw was that "a rapid" increase from sedentary to this could cause problems and that's just common sense. Everyone should know his or her personal limits.

Certainly, the Guardian article states that a goal of at least 7500 steps is to be aimed for. And the benefits of walking daily (getting off the couch and moving) has been known for generations.

I'm not sure I understand your point.

willomenia · ‎07-31-2011

@Mindy D wrote:
When the same story gets told over and over and over again people, even experts tend to believe it’s true. For years, there’s been a claim that taking 10000 steps a day is what is necessary for good health, but what evidence is this advice based on? This advice can be seen on the Fitbit and other fitness trackers and has been given by well-established health and medicine providers and their web sites and publications. The history of the 10000 steps can be traced back to Japan, in 1965, where the first pedometer was invented and marketed to the Japanese people. The myth probably stems from the name of the pedometer, the Manpo-kei, which translates to ‘10000 steps meter.’ The company used the slogan, “Let’s walk 10000 steps a day.” The name lead to the assumption that 10000 steps was necessary for good health and this spread around the world based on nothing but marketing. There are no good studies showing that 10000 steps a day is optimal for good health.

Recently, a study of how many steps would benefit older women was published in the “Journal of the American a Medical Association.” The average age of women in the study was 72. The study found that older women reaped benefits at 4400 steps per day as opposed to women in the study group that took 2700 steps per day. There was no benefit in walking over 7500 steps per day.

“More specifically, women who took 4,400 steps per day had better outcomes, including longevity, than women who took less than 2,700 steps per day.The women included in the study, published Wednesday in JAMA Internal Medicine, averaged 72 in age.Its findings could help improve women's health by pointing women to a more realistic goal to achieve, like 4,000 steps a day, or between one and two miles.”
Original study is liked in above paragraph.

Articles about the 10000 steps a day myth:
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2019/05/10000-steps-rule/590785/

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/sep/03/watch-your-step-why-the-10000-daily-goal-is-bui...

https://www.aarp.org/health/healthy-living/info-2019/7500-steps-daily-is-enough.html

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2739495

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2019/05/29/727943418/do-you-really-need-10-000-steps-per-d...

I'm glad someone finally commented on this 10,000 step thing. I always felt it was a selling tool to get you to buy the fitbit or any pedometer. I was just too exhausted from walking so much to look it up myself. Lol

Mindy D · ‎05-23-2010

@Venezia wrote:
I see nothing that indicates people should discount the idea of 10,000 steps. The only comment I saw was that "a rapid" increase from sedentary to this could cause problems and that's just common sense. Everyone should know his or her personal limits.

Certainly, the Guardian article states that a goal of at least 7500 steps is to be aimed for. And the benefits of walking daily (getting off the couch and moving) has been known for generations.

I'm not sure I understand your point.

What this all means is that there is no reason to walk 10000 steps. It’s a made up number based on an ad campaign. You don’t have to stop walking 10000 steps if you like. It won’t hurt you and walking is great. It’s just that that number is an arbitrary number. It won’t hurt to walk that much. The point is that people BELIEVE this number of steps has scientific evidence behind it. It doesn’t. Maybe I’m not doing a good job of explaining myself. Perhaps one of the linked articles would provide a better explanation.

As far as just the new study; this deals with the mortality in older women and the number of steps the older women take. In this one new study, women that take over 7500 steps do not have any health advantage over women that take 7500 steps. In other words, the women could take 10000 steps and they won’t live any longer than if they take 7500 steps. What was optimal for the health of the women in the study was 4400 steps. This was better for them than the women that talk 2200 (I’m trying to remember the exact figure).

Mindy D · ‎05-23-2010

Quoted from “The Atlantic” article:

“She was curious to know how many steps you need to take a day to maintain good health and live a long life, so she and her colleagues designed a study that included about 17,000 older women. Their average age was 72. The women all agreed to clip on wearable devices to track their steps as they went about their day-to-day activities.

It turns out that women who took about 4,000 steps per day got a boost in longevity, compared with women who took fewer steps. "It was sort of surprising," Lee says.

In fact, women who took 4,400 steps per day, on average, were about 40 percent less likely to die during the follow-up period of about four years compared with women who took 2,700 steps. The findings were published Wednesday in JAMA

Another surprise: The benefits of walking maxed out at about 7,500 steps. In other words, women who walked more than 7,500 steps per day saw no additional boost in longevity.”

https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2019/05/10000-steps-rule/590785/

JAMA is the “Journal of the American Medical Association”

Mindy D · ‎05-23-2010

Quoted from the study’s abstract:

“Conclusions and Relevance Among older women, as few as approximately 4400 steps/d was significantly related to lower mortality rates compared with approximately 2700 steps/d. With more steps per day, mortality rates progressively decreased before leveling at approximately 7500 steps/d. Stepping intensity was not clearly related to lower mortality rates after accounting for total steps per day.”

May 29, 2019 Association of Step Volume and Intensity With All-Cause Mortality in Older Women. Journal of the American Medical Association.

I-Min Lee, MBBS, ScD1,2; Eric J. Shiroma, ScD3; Masamitsu Kamada, PhD4; et al

From the conclusion, more steps than 4400 were associated with decreasing mortality rates up to 7500 steps. So it’s was better for those in the study that took over 4400 steps.

cherry · ‎03-09-2010

Walk people, do what you can, and what you like. It is the moving that matters ,If you can only walk 200 steps, it is better than nothing..Don't think if you can't do 10,000, forget about it

Sometime you might be able to do 2000 steps, and that is a mile

Sooner · ‎03-10-2010

@cherry In a very big way it is all bogus. For someone who is 5' tall, a certain number of steps DO NOT equal a mile. For someone who is 6' 5" that same number of steps certainly isn't the same distance.

Miles or steps are bogus because neither take in the age or physical condition of the individual. It is a matter of time walked, pace, and heart rate that is far more relevant to the discussion than steps and miles in a general number for everyone.

cherry · ‎03-09-2010

Yes I know @Sooner, but it is still a target to aim for, to let you know you far you are walking..We do 20 minutes of weight lifting and 25 minutes of walking 5 times a week..I am short and my husband is 6 ft. It isn't the same for both of us. I am probably walking farther, but it is a goal to meet.

x Hedge · ‎08-18-2016

Mindy, I don't know a single person who takes that "ten thousand steps" expression literally.

I think the average adult knows without being told, that "ten thousand" is hyperbole.

Additionally, my brother who had polio, was given a pedometer to use as a motivating tool in his recovery long before 1965.

Whether you're 5' or 6', it's not the distance that matters nor the number of steps. It's daily activity that achieves the aerobic level and sustains it long enough to to have a positive impact on fitness.