It is 1964 in Japan and Tokyo has become the venue for the Olympic Games. The country is obsessed with sports and the Yamasa company, manufacturer of watches and instruments, decides to take advantage of the moment. Yamasa presents the first portable pedometer, a mechanical step counter that could be worn on the waist and was named Manpo-kei, which in Japanese means “10,000 step meter.”
In addition to being a round number that brings good luck in Japan, the Japanese character “man,” which represents the number 10,000, slightly resembles a person walking. The advertising campaign and the pedometer were a success. From then until today, that is the reason why your activity bracelet marks 10,000 steps a day as a goal.
The advantages of walking
Although 10,000 steps is a reasonable goal for many people, it is not a magic number, and it is not supported by scientific research. But this does not invalidate the many health benefits that walking has, especially in an increasingly sedentary modern society.
Spending the day in a chair has come to be considered “the new tobacco” for its harmful effects on health. Sedentary behavior is closely related to a increased risk of cardiovascular diseases, cancer, obesity and accelerated aging.
On the contrary, walking daily has been shown to have extraordinary health benefits. In a study in the UK The health of postal service workers was compared. Those who had an office job, compared to postmen, who walked during their work day, had a larger waist circumference, worse cholesterol levels and a higher risk of cardiovascular disease over ten years.
“Walking is a form of physical activity, and physical activity has been shown to have disease prevention benefits. In addition, it is effective even when you already have any pathology. It is an easy, cheap activity and anyone can do it regardless of sex, age or socioeconomic level,” says Eva Rodríguez Gutiérrez, predoctoral researcher at the Center for Socio-Health Studies of the University of Castilla-La Mancha, and co-author of several studies on influence of walking on different aspects of health.
Although 10,000 steps is a reasonable goal for many people, it is not a magic number, and it is not supported by scientific research. But this does not negate the many benefits that walking has for health.
Other studies corroborate this. Walk reduces the risk of cardiovascular diseases and also of metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes and obesity. It can also provide benefits for mental well-being. Walk, especially in natural environmentsand especially in company, helps reduce cortisol levels (i.e. stress) and improve mood.
Walking can also reduce feelings of anger, anxietytension and confusion. But the question everyone is asking is how much do I have to walk to get health benefits?
How much should you walk per day?
“We saw that the minimum number of daily steps necessary to reduce the risk of mortality in the general population is about 3,000 steps per day,” explains researcher Rodríguez. “In people over 70 years of age the threshold is a little lower, about 2,500 steps, and in younger people about 4,000.” These are the results of the “umbrella” review of which Rodríguez is the main author, combining data from 14 different population studies, comparing mortality from any cause among the participating people.
The health benefits of walking depend on the dose, but they have a limit. “Yes, the more steps the better, but it is true that the relationship is not linear,” Rodríguez clarifies. “The optimal amount would be to walk between 7,000 and 9,000 steps a day, and from about 9,000 or 10,000 steps we have no longer measured additional benefits,” he concludes.
Other international studies have reached similar results. A review with data from more than 100,000 people in the United States found that the beneficial effects on both mortality and cardiovascular risk began at 2,500 steps, and reached a maximum and stabilized around 7,000-9,000 steps per day. The 10,000 steps of the old Japanese pedometer were not that far off, although it was an arbitrary number.
What happens when these numbers are exceeded? An interesting Peking University study in China observed benefits of walking on six health measures, including mortality, cardiovascular accidents, muscle injuries, respiratory and metabolic diseases. However, exceeding 10,000 steps a day increased the risk of suffering from knee injuries by 52%.
We saw that the minimum number of daily steps necessary to reduce the risk of mortality in the general population is about 3,000 steps per day.
Eva Rodríguez Gutiérrez
— predoctoral researcher, Center for Socio-Health Studies of the UCLM
Walking is not only beneficial for the elderly. “We evaluated the children’s daily steps during an entire school year, and we saw that the percentage of children who meet the physical activity recommendations is quite low,” says Rodríguez. He study Reference Rodríguez followed almost 400 children between 9 and 12 years old, and found that children who walked more than between 9,000 and 12,000 steps a day had better cardiorespiratory capacity and cholesterol levels. “This physical activity that they do as children has an impact on their health when they are adults,” adds the researcher.
Another analysis of which she is co-author focused on the influence of number of steps on depression symptoms in people between 18 and 90 years old. The results were similar: below 5,000 steps a day, the influence was not significant, but for every 1,000 steps added, the risk of suffering from depression decreased, especially around 7,000 steps a day.
Quantity and quality when walking
Although the number of steps we walk is a good indicator of daily physical activity, it is not the only one, and the quality of this activity, as well as the quantity, has a lot of influence on the results. For example, it has been proven that walking faster, with a more vigorous step, can further increase health benefits.
In one review of studies Published in Frontiers of Public Health, it was found that walking did not have much influence on flexibility, endurance, muscle development and balance. It is not strange, since to improve in these aspects strength exercise is necessary. What was seen were improvements in the aerobic capacity of older people and these were much greater in high-intensity fast walking than with a more moderate pace.
The studies in which Rodríguez has participated, mentioned above, have also established a relationship between external factors such as climate or lighting and the number of steps, especially in the case of children. “We saw that with low temperatures and few hours of daylight, children walk about 2,000 steps less than when summer arrives,” he explains. “By creating covered recreational areas or green areas with better lighting we can increase the number of steps and thus improve health and quality of life,” he concludes.
*Darío Pescador is editor and director of the Quo magazine and author of the book your best self Posted by Oberon.
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