Just how many steps every day is enough?

15 years ago, pedometers were starting to become fashionable. You could get them in all colours, made by all manner of brands, and with varying accuracy. So, people started counting their steps. But just how many steps was enough?

"5,000 for health; 10,000 to lose weight" was one opinion. Others said 8,000 - and some said 20,000.

But now, 5,000 paces (steps) seems to be very much on the low side.  However, isn't 10,000 paces a suspiciously round number? So we decided to investigate.

The NHS says 10,000 paces works out at about 5 miles. And they also say it's a way of making sure you get your 150 minutes of exercise per week (5 days x 30 minutes, if you were wondering where 150 minutes comes from). Suddenly the numbers start to make sense, or at least the reasoning behind them is a bit clearer. Or is it?

We found a Huffington Post article that blows this out of the water. It seems that 10,000 was a marketing ploy from the Tokyo Olympics in 1964. And it's been a convenient number to trot out ever since.

So it looks like "experts" start off with 10,000 steps (or 10,000 paces - call them what you like) and then find all sorts of ways of justifying this.

Back to our question: just how many steps every day is enough?

The answer is: "it depends". It depends on how many steps you're already doing. To get from a fairly sedentary 2,500 steps per day up to 5,000 is an amazing 100% increase (a doubling of the amount of exercise). And it seems the biggest impact on health is to go from a sedentary lifestyle to getting a moderate amount of exercise. After that, the increase in health benefits diminishes as you increase the number of steps. And don't forget the feel-good effect of the endorphins that are produced as you exercise.

(Ever wondered why some people who take a lot of exercise behave almost as if they're on a high? That's because they are. They could well be hooked on their own endorphins.)

So, the short answer is: "probably a few more than you're doing at the moment". Should you set yourself a step target? Yes, if it will motivate you. No, if it will make you feel bad about yourself. Just try to walk a bit more than you're already doing - and use a pedometer, a smartphone app and/or a fitness band if it'll help you do that.


Sources:

http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/loseweight/Pages/10000stepschallenge.aspx

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/science-of-us/10000-steps-walk-day_b_7604514.html