Is walking 10,000 steps a day a realistic goal?

Back in the 1960s, the concept of health and fitness for the general public through exercise was becoming increasingly popular. Nowhere more so in Japan, where they were busy preparing to host the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. Obesity was becoming a problem, and walking was free and could be carried out with no equipment or fitness training.

At around the same time, a waist-worn pedometer had reached the Japanese market, that could count the steps an individual was making each day. The manufacturers of this pedometer called it Manpo-Kei, which translates to 10,000 steps, apparently because it had a nice ring to it – with literally no scientific basis that this was a good target.

However, the marketing took off. Suddenly, everyone wanted to count their steps, and so the 10,000 target was born. But is there any truth in the fact that this is what we should be aiming for? A research paper published in 2021 thinks not. Sort of.

The authors followed more than 2,000 middle aged people for 11 years and part of the data they collected was their step count. Whilst the researchers point out that exercise is, most definitely, good for us, and that keeping active and walking each day is linked to better health outcomes, it seems that the benefits taper out at a daily 7,000 steps. Those hitting this target were between 50 and 70% less likely to experience premature death. Pretty thought provoking.

They found that those reaching 6,000 steps per day on average had better health outcomes than those reaching 5,000, who themselves achieved better than those reaching 4,000 and so on. But once we reach an average of 7,000 steps per day, the benefits appear to stop there.

Therefore, stressing about the extra 3,000 to take us to 10,000, possibly at the expense of performing other exercise such as resistance training, probably isn’t worth it. But if we’re hitting 10,000 a day and still finding time for other exercise, we’re doing really well and we shouldn’t stop – because being active is paramount.

How many calories does 10,000 steps burn?

It’s difficult to pinpoint an actual figure for how many calories 10,000 steps burns as we have different metabolisms and walking pace, or how far 10,000 steps is, as we all have different stride lengths.

But as a general guide, walking 10,000 steps in a day will burn around 340 calories and will cover around five miles. Walk at a brisk pace and it will take around an hour of continuous walking to achieve 10,000 steps. Of course, most of us will reach our target over the course of a day instead, with all of our steps accumulating as we remain active throughout the day.

But how easy is it to reach 10,000 or even 7,000 steps?

Spend a lazy Sunday simply moving around your home, and you’ll notice that you probably only achieve around 3,000 steps. Actually reaching 10,000 steps in a day is something we need to put our mind to and make an effort to achieve. Especially so if we’re deskbound, have a driving job or we work from home. If we work in hospitality, healthcare or retail, we’re more likely to be on our feet more, racking up those steps.

What walking 10,000 steps does for your health

The benefits of walking are plentiful. Brisk walking (where you can still talk but would struggle to sing) burns calories which can contribute to weight loss. It can also help to keep the joints supple and lubricated, which can help to reduce joint pain.

There’s also evidence that regular walking for at least half an hour a day can help to reduce our risk of developing coronary heart disease by almost 20% and taking a short walk after meals can help to lower our blood sugar levels.

In terms of our mental health, studies show that walking in nature for at least 30 minutes each day can help to reduce feelings of stress, anxiety and depression and can even boost our creativity and problem solving skills.

If we don’t have mobility issues, walking is easy and free, and has many benefits to health. But what if we’re not meeting our step count? How can we increase it?

Walking for health and fitness  

So in answer to our original question, “does our health benefit from walking 10,000 steps a day on a regular basis? Or is it an arbitrary number?”, it seems that the answer is somewhere in-between. But what is clear, is that spending our days being as active as possible is key.

The 10,000 target isn’t completely pointless, as it’s always a good idea to have targets and goals when it comes to fitness. Therefore, having a target of 10,000 steps helps to give us something to aim towards. It also helps us monitor our progress over time.

Plus, we certainly shouldn’t stop at 10,000 steps if we don’t want to! If we’re having a busy day or we feel like an extra-long walk, jog or run, then we can by all means exceed our target.

As with anything that helps to increase our fitness, commitment is key. Aim to increase your step count gradually, once or twice a week, before building up to your goal most days, or even every day.

Japanese marketing campaigns aside, walking at least 7,000 steps every day will benefit our physical health and emotional wellbeing. So lace up those trainers and enjoy exploring!