Why 8,000 — not 10,000 — just might be the magic number when it comes to daily steps
If 10,000 daily steps seems like a bridge too far, you may be in luck.
Scientists have found that 8,000 is enough to significantly lower the risk of early death.
Reaching that goal in just one or two days reduced mortality risk by 15 percent in a study of 3,000 middle-aged people.
Taking an average of 8,000 steps a day for three to seven days a week reduced early death by just 17 percent.
Most studies focused on young to middle-aged adults with daily goals of 10,000 or more steps, which may not be achievable for older or busy individuals.
The association between the number of days participants took 8,000 or more steps during the week and the 10-year risk of all-cause mortality broken down by age. Stepping into your steps had a much greater impact on those 65 or older
Studies have consistently shown that 10,000 daily steps is a good margin for anyone looking to stay healthy and has a whole host of health benefits
The team from the University of California, Los Angeles looked at data from 3,101 adults, with an average age of 50, who took part in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys in 2005-2006 and wore an accelerometer for a week.
Their death certificates were also examined 10 years later.
Participants were divided into groups based on the number of days per week they took 8,000 or more steps: zero days, 1-2 days, and 3-7 days.
The higher the number of days participants walked 8,000 steps, the lower their risk of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality after 10 years.
Participants who took 8,000 steps or more just one or two days a week also had a significantly lower risk of all-cause and cardiovascular death.
Meeting the benchmark 8,000 steps had a much greater impact for participants aged 65 or older.
Seniors who didn’t take 8,000 steps on any day in a week had a 40 percent mortality risk from all causes. Reaching that goal one to two days a week reduced the risk to 20 percent, and on three to seven days it even further reduced it to 12 percent.
The study suggests that for people who struggle to find time to exercise regularly, perhaps due to work or family commitments, taking 8,000 daily steps on just a few days a week could provide meaningful health benefits.
The researchers said: ‘Given the simplicity and convenience of counting daily steps, our findings indicate that the recommended number of steps taken on just one to two days per week may be a viable option for individuals striving for health benefits. by sticking to a recommended daily number of steps, but not being able to accomplish this daily.’
The study is published in JAMA network opened.
The holy grail number of 10,000 came about through a clever marketing ploy by a Japanese company trying to sell pedometers in the aftermath of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.
At the time, there was more focus on fitness in the host country and companies had tried to capitalize on the craze surrounding the Games.
One campaign involved marketing Yamasa’s pedometer called the Manpo-kei, which literally means “10,000 step meter” in Japanese.
But the random figure was never based on science. Instead, the number was chosen because the benchmark was a nice round memorable number.
Since then, studies have consistently shown that 10,000 daily steps is a good margin for anyone wanting to stay healthy — and that it seems much more beneficial than simply sticking to 5,000.