IS THERE MAGIC IN 10,000 STEPS A DAY?
If you've spent any amount of time in the health and fitness world, you've probably heard that you should aim for 10,000 steps per day. It's become one of the most widely accepted health recommendations out there — but maybe you’ve also heard the surprising part: 10,000 steps/day wasn't originally based on scientific research.
The number can be traced back to a Japanese pedometer released in the 1960s called the Manpo-kei, which roughly translates to "10,000-step meter." The number was developed around the 1964 Tokyo Olympics to encourage public health and fitness, and it also turned out to be catchy and easy to remember; the Japanese kanji character for 10,000 is also thought to visually resemble a person walking. It made for great marketing, and over time, this recommendation spread across the world.
Disproving the myth of “getting 10K steps a day” doesn’t mean that walking is overrated! It just means the health benefits don’t suddenly begin at 10,000 steps – and they don't disappear if you only get 7,000.
WHAT DOES THE RESEARCH SAY?
Over the last several years, researchers have looked at how daily step counts relate to health outcomes like cardiovascular disease, chronic disease risk, and premature death. The consistent finding? More movement is generally better than less movement, but the relationship isn't all-or-nothing.
The biggest improvements in health tend to occur when someone goes from being very sedentary to moderately active. For example, increasing your daily average from 3,000 steps to 6,000 steps is likely to have a much greater impact than increasing from 10,000 to 13,000. (This doesn’t mean that the transition from 10,000 to 13,000 is meaningless, but it is relatively less impactful.)
Several large studies have found that mortality risk decreases substantially as daily step counts increase, with benefits beginning well below the magical 10,000 steps. While the exact point where benefits begin to level off varies slightly depending on the study and the population being examined, many have found that risk reduction of all cause mortality levels off somewhere in the range of 6,000-8,000 daily steps for older adults (over 60); for younger adults, these benefits plateau around 8,000-10,000 daily steps.
On average, people in the United States walk between 4,000-5,000 steps per day. Less than 4,000 steps is considered a low level of activity (yes, even if you are going to the gym, but still averaging less than 4,000 steps, your overall activity level is low.) Less than 2,000 steps each day is considered a sedentary, or inactive, lifestyle. So there’s not a “magic number.” Instead, it’s more of a spectrum of benefit.
WHY THIS MATTERS
The problem with treating 10,000 as a pass/fail target is that it can unintentionally create an all-or-nothing mindset. Maybe you have a busy workday and only reach 6,500 steps. Maybe the weather kept you inside. Maybe you had a much more flexible day than usual and you clocked 12,000 steps.
If you've convinced yourself that anything under 10,000 "doesn't count," it's easy to feel like the day was a failure — even though you may have accumulated far more movement than you otherwise would have. And if you’ve taught yourself that a surplus is a “bonus” or “rolls over to tomorrow,” you’re honestly missing the mark, too. Our bodies don't think in round numbers, and every bout of movement counts.
SHOULD YOU HAVE A STEP GOAL?
A step goal can be an incredibly useful tool, for some. Not because 10,000 is biologically special (because we now know it’s not), but because having a target often helps us become more aware of how much (or how little) we're moving throughout the day.
For many people, steps are one of the simplest ways to increase overall physical activity. They're easy to track, require no equipment, and can often be accumulated in small chunks throughout the day. Like other areas of health, the goal isn't perfection. The goal with steps is simply to move more than you otherwise would have, and then once you get to a range or average that fits your lifestyle and goals, to maintain that range.
PRACTICAL TAKEAWAYS
If you're considering using a step goal, here are a few things I’d encourage you to keep in mind:
Start with your current average. If you're averaging 4,500 steps per day, jumping straight to 10,000 probably isn't sustainable (or currently necessary). When clients and I talk about a step goal we usually spend a week or two collecting data (or looking at data if a wearable is already in the picture), find the current average step count per day, and then add 500-1,000 steps to that for a new goal. Only when this new goal is achieved and feeling borderline easy do we then increase again. Which leads me to…
Increase gradually. Adding 1,000 or so steps per day is often enough to create meaningful progress without completely overhauling your routine. And more importantly, is often manageable when it comes to that current routine.
Focus on consistency, not streaks. Your weekly or monthly average is wayyyyy more meaningful than any single day. I encourage clients to have a bare minimum number of steps to hit daily – so that in the instance of too many meetings or a rainy day or a case of the “I don’t wannas” there is still a basement to the number of steps you are comfortable getting in a day.
Use your step goal as feedback, not a grade. It's information that can help guide your choices, not a measure of whether you "succeeded" that day.
Remember that steps are only one piece of health. Strength training, sleep, nutrition, stress management, and cardiovascular fitness all matter, too. (** But important to note that if you are doing all those things and not moving in a way that reflects your goals and lifestyle, this lack of movement may influence your goals and lifestyle.)
The device you track on doesn’t matter. No, not every step tracker is created equal in terms of features it boasts or the other data the device collects, and sure, different devices might count your steps/stride differently. I don’t want to brush this fact under the rug, but instead want to highlight that no wearable technology is perfect. Instead, pick the device (watch, ring, even the health app on your iPhone) you want to use to track and use that device consistently.
At the end of the day, 10,000 steps is a helpful benchmark, not a requirement. If it motivates you and fits your lifestyle, great. If another number is more realistic for your current season of life, that's okay too. The healthiest step goal isn't necessarily 10,000 steps a day, it’s the one that helps you consistently move more than you were before.
YOUR NEXT STEP
Have you thought about what your general movement looks like throughout that day, and what steps you might be able to take to increase that amount, bit by bit? At Front Porch Nutrition, I coach real people through real-life nutrition and lifestyle changes — thinking through what your wants, needs, and goals are, and working together to make changes that last not just in the moment, but for the long haul. Get started with 1:1 nutrition coaching today!
