One Step Ahead

One-Step-Forward

9,999…10,000 STEPS! Take THAT, Fitbit!

This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science, saying…

Who came up with that number, anyway? IS 10,000 the magic number for good health?

Amanda Paluch of University of Massachusetts Amherst and an international team STEPPED up to investigate. 

They combined and analyzed data from fifteen other international health studies. That’s info from almost fifty thousand walkers over twenty years! They compared daily step count and the risk of mortality as we age. 

Results? Adults over sixty taking six to eight thousand daily steps had a LOWER risk of mortality. For younger adults, eight to ten thousand steps a day improved mortality risks. 

As for walking SPEED – does it matter? Still unclear. But total steps per day – THAT’S the key!

Walking is a simple physical activity that is great for our health. And, turns out we don’t have to log the full ten thousand to get results!

Great news! Cause it’s just ten more steps…to the fridge!


Reference: Paluch, A. E., Bajpai, S., Bassett, D. R., Carnethon, M. R., Ekelund, U., Evenson, K. R., Galuska, D. A., Jefferis, B. J., Kraus, W. E., Lee, I.-M., Matthews, C. E., Omura, J. D., Patel, A. V., Pieper, C. F., Rees-Punia, E., Dallmeier, D., Klenk, J., Whincup, P. H., Dooley, E. E., … Fulton, J. E. (2022). Daily steps and all-cause mortality: A meta-analysis of 15 international cohorts. The Lancet Public Health, 7(3). https://doi.org/10.1016/s2468-2667(21)00302-9