If you have a fitness tracker or a health band, it will tell you to take 10,000 steps daily. But, is this target enough for a healthy heart?
Fitness instructors, cleaners, household workers or dog walkers may manage these 10K steps very easily. But what about many of us that has idle desk job or someone with chronic health conditions.
So how often we can manage a week-long stretch above 10,000 steps a day.
Answer: rarely.
Why 10,000 steps?
The magic number “10,000” dates back to a marketing campaign conducted shortly before the start of the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games. A company began selling a pedometer called the Manpo-kei: “man” meaning 10,000, “po” meaning steps and “kei” meaning meter. It was hugely successful and the number seems to have stuck.
Since then, studies have compared the health benefits of 5,000 versus 10,000 steps and, not surprisingly, the higher number is better. Over the years some high-profile health organisations, including the World Health Organisation (WHO), promoted the 10,000 steps as a target for healthy adults.
What has research found?
Research has shown that walking less than 5000 steps a day increases your risk of heart diseases and other chronic health conditions significantly. Person walking less than 5000 steps a day is considered to have a sedentary life.
And many studies on a large scale have concluded that 10,000 steps a day is a reasonable target for a healthy adult, with 7000-8000 per day as minimum. So are more steps better?
Not necessarily. It also found even moderate increases in steps had benefit for your cardiovascular health. This suggests that for some people, starting with a lower step goal may be better.
The Heart Foundation recommends minimum of 150 minutes of moderate activity per week, i.e. two and half hours. So that means 30 minutes a day. For a start, both 30 minutes a day or 10,000 steps a day, have proven benefits to your heart health like lowering your risk of coronary artery disease, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
If you can’t manage 30 minutes all in one go, try three 10-minute exercise “snacks”.
Will 10,000 steps a day help me lose weight?
Well, that depends on what you eat and your metabolism. That said, currently do a less than 10,000 steps a day and gradually increase the count to help you shift your extra kilos.
Why should I be active?
Your heart is a muscle and needs exercise to help keep it fit so that it can pump blood efficiently around your body. Without regular physical activity, the body slowly loses its strength, stamina and ability to function well.
- Preventing heart disease
- Lowering your risk of high blood pressure, diabetes and stroke
- Helping to fight the battle to quit smoking
- Aiding cardiac rehabilitation
- Establishing good heart healthy habits in children
- Building stronger immunity
- Reducing blood pressure in people who already have high blood pressure
- Helping to reduce stress, tension, depression and anxiety
- Helping to control weight
- Improving overall health and well being, prolonging your optimal health
Wrapping Up…
What can we conclude from all of this? Count if you find it motivates you, but remember there’s nothing special about 10,000 steps. Set the goal that is right for you. It might be more, it might be less – or it might be throwing out your tracker entirely.
