The 10k steps per day myth — Tip #16
When marketing outsmarts us, but it's for our own good 🃏
You’ve probably heard the advice that hitting 10k steps a day is a good goal, whether for improving fitness or simply staying healthy. Thankfully, some dedicated researchers have looked into whether this is actually true, and what evidence it is based on. Studies have shown that the step count associated with better cardiovascular health and a lower risk of death is somewhere between 4.000 - 8.000 steps per day. As usual, there is more nuance: the lower end of the range tends to apply more to older adults, while the higher end is more relevant for younger people. Gender and other health conditions also influence these ranges.
What I found interesting is how we ended up with the “10.000 steps a day” target in the first place. In 1964, around the time of the Tokyo Olympics, a Japanese company seized the opportunity to market a pedometer called Manpo-kei. The product team had to choose a target number for users, and eventually settled on 10.000 because it was catchy, memorable, and even looked visually appealing in Japanese (😅).
After that launch, countless apps and products adopted this magical number and, long before influencers were a thing, shaped the habits of millions of people around the world. And yet, we had to wait until around 2019 to see studies clearly highlighting the actual correlation between step count and health. Pretty insane, isn’t it?
You might think today’s tip would be to check your sources and question the things you follow religiously in life, but we’ve already covered that 👇
So today, I want to focus on a practical suggestion: make sure you move every day. We are biological machines meant to move, not sedentary pieces of furniture meant to consume. Especially now that “office” work is so common, using step count as a minimum daily activity target is a helpful benchmark. If your step count stays well below the recommended range for years, you’re essentially trading comfort and convenience for your long-term health.
These days, you can track your steps with almost any smartwatch. Most smartphones also have motion sensors. Or maybe you can get a 20$ pedometer! 😂
And, to prove that I walk the walk (pun intended), here is my step count for the past year 🚶
Your weekly tip: Aim for around 8.000 steps per day. You can achieve this with roughly 70-80 minutes of walking (a bit more if you are a 🐢). You don’t have to do it all at once, feel free to break it up throughout the day.
Don’t forget to share this tip with a friend who doesn’t move much. At the very least, get them to walk the walk 🫰
See you next week, until then…
Don’t Panic 😱