The widely held belief that we should be clocking up 10,000 steps a day can often leave us feeling disheartened when we fall short.
While exercise is crucial, achieving this target can be challenging, particularly for those with desk jobs or other commitments. However, Dr Rangan Chatterjee, the resident doctor on BBC Breakfast, suggests there’s no need to fret.
Dr Chatterjee claims the ‘10,000 steps a day’ concept is merely a marketing gimmick. On his podcast – called Feel Better, Live More – Dr Chatterjee spoke with paleoanthropologist Dr Daniel Lieberman, who revealed the origins behind the daily routine.
He said: “10,000 steps a day came from this accelerometer that was created in Japan just before the Olympics in 64”. According to the Massachusetts-based Dr Lieberman, the figure of 10,000 was chosen due to its significance in Japanese culture, leading to the creation of the ‘10,000 steps meter’.
In the lead-up to the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, Yamasa sought to capitalise on the fitness craze and developed the world’s first wearable step-counter, dubbed the Manpo-Kei, or “10,000-step meter”. It’s thought the company picked the number arbitrarily, but given its catchy nature, it has remained a popular goal ever since.
He elaborated, as per the podcast snippet shared on TikTok: “So, there is no one number of steps to take per day. The evidence on exercise is pretty darn clear.
“Anything is better than nothing. If you’re completely sedentary, more steps climbing the stairs, parking your car further away from the shop…. anything is better than nothing.
“More is better, and at a certain point the benefits seem to tail off.” However, he also mentioned that attempting to pinpoint an exact number is not only futile but also “sends an incorrect message”, reports Surrey Live.
For individuals aged 19 to 64, the NHS advises a minimum of 150 minutes of weekly physical activity. Although simple and low-impact, walking offers substantial benefits, including enhanced stamina, calorie burn, and heart health.
According to another study published in the European Journal of Preventative Cardiology in 2023, walking just 4,000 steps daily may suffice to lower the risk of premature death. Furthermore, each additional 1,000 steps is believed to reduce this risk by approximately 15%.
The study found that the benefits of extra steps continued to accumulate without an apparent limit. A recent analysis, using data from 17 past studies and 226,889 participants tracked over an average of seven years, has revealed that logging less than 5,000 steps daily is considered leading a “sedentary lifestyle”.
In addition to this finding, separate research suggests that walking for 30 minutes a day can aid in weight loss, with the Nordic Walking method increasing calorie burn by 20%.
The origins of the popular 10,000 steps target are not commonly known, prompting reactions online. One individual commented: “So interesting! Mine totally varies day to day.”
Someone else expressed their frustration, stating: “This! So fed up with the 10k steps. Just start exchanging the times you wouldn’t walk for an actual walk.”