10,000 steps.
When you want to keep weight off, and you chart with a pedometer, 10,000 steps a day is your goal. Where did this come from? Is it a a bit of urban legend? The whole concept of 10,000 steps a day is thought to have originated from a 40 year old Japanese focus on walking. For most people, 10,000 steps is about 5 miles a day.
There was a study out of University of Tennessee which looked at walking. They compared groups who had a pedometer versus those told to “walk for half an hour.” Those with in the group with pedometers who could see the number of steps they took walked further. Also they found walking 10,000 steps a day versus 6,000 steps had a big impact on body fat and waist and hip measurements.
The average American is thought to take 3,000-5,000 steps a day.
I tried this out on myself years ago from a recommendations from my doctor and another MD (anesthesthesiologist who has a focus of physical health). So I got myself a pedometer. And I had a week of normal days: work, dropping kids off at school, the run to the grocery store. I am a surgeon, a working mom with 3 kids. I feel like I am running everywhere. Of course I would be above the national average. My average? Yep. About 3,500 steps a day.
I have put pedometers on elementary school aged kids. You think your children are running at recess all the time? Some may, but many had about the same number of steps at the end of the day as I did. 3,000.
Add in a walk. Even with a 45 minute walk, you may scrape up to 10,000. On a day where you work out (spinning class, a hike, a run) you will likely exceed the number 10,000.
Other ways to add steps into your day?
- take the stairs
- park farther away
- put a bike or treadmill in front of the tv
- meet your friends for a walk or hike, not for coffee
- walk your dog (one study found those with dogs in big cities end up walking 5 hours a week more than their petless friends!)
You get the idea.
So after your big turkey dinner this year, go for a walk or play football outside. Try to hit that 10,000 number. And for those trying to maintain their weight or starting to get the creep of weight around menopause, buy a pedometer. They are cheap, informative, and will keep you honest.