Benefits of 10,000 Steps

You must hear this a lot - Walk 10,000 steps a day. Especially those of us that invested in a pedometer or have started using the Argus app - 10,000 steps is almost everyone’s target, and for most step tracking devices, that is actually the default number to achieve.

But why 10,000?

Apparently a Japanese company started using the 10,000 steps a day as the magic number to sell pedometers back in the 1960s in the lead up to the Olympics. (Yes it was a part of a marketing campaign!)

However, medical studies around the world have since proven that 10,000 steps are in fact very healthy and it’s good to have a goal like this as steps per day. Numerous studies suggest that people who increased their walking to 10,000 steps daily experience health benefits. Which include the following:

• Reduced blood pressure
• Improvement in glucose levels
• Reduced chances of hospitalization from a severe episode of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) by about half.
• Reduced the risk of stroke in men over the age of 60.

The benefits of walking are universally recognized, but if you can’t get to 10,000 steps per day every day, don’t despair.

Walking 10,000 steps a day is not an official recommendation from any body or health institution. The most common recommendation is that adults engage in 150 minutes of moderate activity a week e.g. brisk walking.

To meet this recommendation, you need to walk about 7,000 to 8,000 steps a day, depending on how quickly you walk and your stride length. However, the average U.S. adult only walks about 5,900 steps daily.

To increase this to around 8,000 steps, you just need to squeeze in a 30 minute walk in your day or try these tips, and that should get you close to the recommended daily step count.

With that in mind, it’s of course better to do more exercise than less and personally I love it when I can achieve 10,000 steps in one day and my Argus app tells me that I’ve achieved my goal.

Happy walking!

Lifestyle and travel blogger Julia enjoys writing in and exploring the digital space. A Digital Marketing Professional with a passion for all things health, beauty, lifestyle and travel, Julia is on a mission to battle stress, live a healthy, happy life and lend a helping hand. An animal lover and avid globe trotter.

Main Photo Credit: lzf/shutterstock.com; Second Photo Credit: Irantzu Arbaizagoitia/shutterstock.com