How many steps do you need in a day?

It is finally SPRING and in Northern Michigan (where I am based) we are anxiously awaiting the snow to melt and the sidewalks to clear. It’s time to get outside and start WALKING!

I speak with patients every day about walking as a key part of overall fitness and well-being. Walking is fundamental to general fitness, helps to lower stress hormones (like cortisol), and can even lower the blood sugar impact of a meal!

So how many steps a day do we really need?

🚶‍♂️For the longest time, we’ve been told to walk 10,000 steps per day.

Recently, I became aware that this recommendation was based on a marketing campaign for a Japanese pedometer with no real science to back that up!

Fortunately, we now actually do have data to answer this question—from 50,000 people spanning 4 continents and published in The Lancet Public Health journal. The study found:

➡️ More steps per day reduced the risk of premature death.

➡️ For adults over age 60, the benefit leveled off at 6000-8000 steps per day.

➡️ For adults younger than 60, the benefit leveled off at 8000-10,000 steps per day.

Sounds like the 10,000-step goal was a pretty good guess for those Japanese marketers! But we can still get the same benefit for a little bit less than that.

I like to use steps as a baseline for patients, then advise layering targeted exercise on top of that. For example, aim for 8000-10000 steps each day for general health, with 150 minutes per week of sweaty, cardiovascular exercise that gets your heart rate into your target cardiovascular fitness zone (this translates to 30 minutes, 5 days per week). On top of that add 2-4 strength-training sessions per week.

Wearable tracking devices can be very helpful in meeting daily goals. I personally wear an Oura Ring to track steps, heart rate, sleep, and more.

OK, now that you know a little more about how many steps to aim for - it’s time to get moving!

Happy Spring!

Carin Nielsen, MD

Reference

Paluch AE, Bajpai S, Bassett DR et al. Daily steps and all-cause mortality: a meta-analysis of 15 international cohorts. Lancet Public Health. 2022; 7: e219-e228.