Since the advent of the Fitbit and other activity trackers that count steps, most people have the idea that taking 10,000 steps a day is the benchmark for a healthy life . But if you wonder
how many do you have to walk a day to be active, then we will try to solve the question for you.
While scientists are often wary of round numbers, there is some good data to support that goal. In 2000, a Japanese team discovered that walking 10,000 steps every day could improve blood pressure levels in men with hypertension . More research has linked a 10,000-step habit to a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, better psychological well-being, weight loss, and better body composition.
How much should you walk a day to be healthy and active?
Part of the benefit of walking comes from simply not being seated. Certain healthy metabolic activities that rely on leg movement turn off when not in use . High accumulation of bad cholesterol, fat in the blood and the depletion of good cholesterol, are, among others, the risks of sitting down and not being active.
Regardless of the benefits, a goal of 15,000 steps is difficult to meet if you are not a postal worker or have some other profession that requires you to walk. The authors of the other study estimate that doing so would take approximately 3.5 hours a day, a considerable time commitment for most working adults.
So it is not clear how much you should walk a day to be healthy, but the important thing is not necessarily reaching that number , but that you reduce the sedentary routine by interrupting it with prolonged periods of sitting, walking or standing.
Other experts say that while taking lots of steps is good, the goal should be to hit the daily lows, not strive for the daily highs.
The chair of kinesiology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst,
Catrine Tudor-Locke, tells us the following:
“There are incremental benefits the more steps you take, but if 10,000 or 15,000 steps is the sweet spot to stay healthy … there is too much obsession about what the ideal goal is.”
This specialist, who has studied step counts and their associated health benefits, says the benefits seem to decrease as you walk more.
The least and the least that offers health benefits is taking at least 5,000 steps a day, and ideally 7,500 or more . According to Tudor-Locke, if you’re doing another sport or doing fitness, you don’t have to go crazy trying to hit 10,000 (or more) steps. But if you don’t reach 5,000, your health will eventually suffer.
Along with the number of steps you take, the pace and frequency of your walk are also important.
Tim Church, a professor at the Pennington Center for Biomedical Research at Louisiana State University, says the following:
“I tell people to try to take at least 3,000 of their steps at a brisk pace, or about two steps per second.”
He also recommends that you get up once an hour to take at least 100 steps and climb a few stairs, just to break sedentary stretches.
