Have you heard the statement that you have to walk 10,000 steps every day to maintain health are you in optimal shape and lose weight? Most likely, you often check your phone or smartwatch to see if you have reached this number and worry when you see less than the desired goal.
Have you ever walked around your house for a few minutes because you only had 50-60 steps to the 10,000?
Well, this is not really necessary, because the number 10,000 is not quite necessary for good health, writes tialoto.bg. Experts say it doesn’t show the exact number of steps you need to be perfect health and body. It turns out that it was invented for marketing purposes and quickly spread by word of mouth, becoming a norm that everyone tries to cover every day.
Although walking is certainly good for the body, experts argue that 7000-8000 steps a day is a healthy goal that you should adhere to.
10,000 steps a day – just a marketing slogan
Daniel Lieberman is a Harvard paleoanthropologist who studies the evolution of exercise. According to him, the idea for the 10,000 steps a day comes from a playful advertisement in Japan, which was launched in the 1960s. Then the company Yamasa Tokei – creator of the first pedometer, named its invention Manpo-kei, which means “measuring 10,000 steps”.
They say the name was memorable and sounded good. And the strategy works. The company sells its product, and the name is established as a unit of measurement for health.
Lieberman says there are several factors that have made 10,000 steps a day a mantra for the whole world. This is an easy number to remember, and such a long walk is always associated with positive health effects. The walks are also accessible to each of us, do not require additional equipment, expensive clothes or shoes and can be done anytime and anywhere.
“We all have deep fundamental instincts to avoid unnecessary activity, so we need these pushes to help us get started,” Lieberman told Insider. However, he is adamant that you do not have to chase the 10,000 steps every day.
A 2019 study of older women found that those who took 4,400 steps a day had lower mortality rates over four years of follow-up than those who walked less. However, the reduction in the risk of early death reaches a maximum level of about 7,500 steps per day, and researchers have found no additional benefits of reaching 10,000 steps.
Similarly, a 2020 study found that taking 8,000 to 12,000 steps a day was associated with a lower risk of dying from any health cause than 4,000 steps a day. Together, these studies show that regular exercise is good for your health, whether you have reached 10,000 steps or not.
Does walking help you lose weight?
There is some evidence that people who take 10,000 steps a day tend to lose weight faster than those who take only 3,500 steps a day. It seems quite logical that adding some more distance traveled would help, thanks to the extra calories you burn. But new research suggests that may not be the case.
Hermann Ponzer, an evolutionary biologist, has collected data showing that people who walk miles every day burn nearly as many calories as those on a sedentary lifestyle. His theory is that over time, the body compensates for the extra energy you burn through exercise by sending more hunger signals to eat more and compensate for energy loss.
Although this theory is somewhat contradictory and requires more research, it suggests that the relationship between walking and weight loss is not as clear as people think. So 10,000 steps a day is not a specific rule for getting in shape, but rather for maintaining optimal health.
If you want to lose weight, walking will not hurt you, but a change in diet is key.
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