Do Runners Really Need 10,000 Steps Per Day?
Where did 10,000 steps come from and does it lead to improved wellness?
With the boom of fitness trackers and smartwatches came the standard advice that taking 10,000 steps per day is the key to wellness. I wear a Fitbit and I love watching those numbers tick up. But does it mean anything?
Which led me to wonder, is 10,000 steps some sort of magical number that leads to health and wellness? Does it help with weight loss? Should I be aiming for higher than 10,000 steps if I want even more benefits?
To answer my questions, I began at the beginning. Where did the idea for 10,000 steps per day originate?
Manko-pei (10,000 steps meter)
Dr. Yoshiro Hatano was concerned in the early ’60s that the Japanese population was beginning to experience a rise in obesity. He determined that people were averaging 3,500 to 5,000 steps per day, and he claimed that increasing this number to 10,000, would result in weight loss.
In 1965, he began selling the Manpo-kei, a simple pedometer that clipped to people’s waists. Manpo-kei translates to 10,000 steps meter.
This was perfect timing for the Manpo-kei, as Japan was experiencing an uptick in fitness. The 1964 Summer Olympics had just occurred resulting in enthusiasm for exercise.
The Manpo-kei gave fitness enthusiasts a method for tracking their steps and it’s where the 10,000 steps per day goal first became popular. Walking clubs formed in Japan, and the number became the standard daily goal. Eventually, 10,000 steps spread around the world as the number of steps needed per day to stay in good health.
Recent research
The number of 10,000 steps per day for health has been researched quite a bit since then.
A recent study published in Jama International Medicine takes a look at 10,000 steps and mortality. Dr. I-Min Lee wanted to answer two questions:
- How many steps are associated with a lower mortality rate?
- Are some steps better than others? Do steps taken at a higher intensity level provide a benefit?
She found that the most sedentary of the group were walking an average of 2,700 steps per day. This group had the highest mortality rate. Participants that averaged 4,400 steps per day had significantly lower mortality rates and this level increased up to 7,500 steps where it began to level off. The intensity level of steps taken did not affect mortality rates.
Participants in this study were older women and the study only looked at the mortality rates of the women, not overall health. The results are encouraging for people that find the goal of 10,000 steps per day overwhelming. Even 4,400 steps is an improvement over 2,700. But Dr. Lee was only interested in mortality rates here. What about overall fitness and weight loss?
Don’t count on 10,000 steps for weight loss
Dr. Bruce Bailey, professor of exercise science at Brigham Young University published a study in the Journal of Obesity that showed benefits to walking 10,000 steps per day, but none of them were weight loss.
The study found the control group gained similar amounts of weight to the walking group. Even 15,000 steps did not protect against weight loss. This is most likely because activity levels have a limited benefit for weight loss. Also, diet plays an important role.
However, the group walking 15,000 steps per day averaged over an hour more of activity per day and reduced their sedentary times. And research has shown reducing sedentary minutes and increasing active ones comes with many benefits.
What does this mean for runners?
Most people walk or run about one mile per 2,000 steps. 10,000 steps per day translates to around 5 miles for most of us. The average American takes around 3,000 to 4,000 steps per day. Adding a daily 30 to 60 minute walk to reach the 10,000 step goal would help most people get their recommended 150 minutes of exercise per day.
But, if you’re a regular runner and you wake up and start your day with a three to five mile run, you may very well have your 10,000 steps in by breakfast. Are you done for the day? Can you sit at your desk or on a couch for the remainder of your day?
How many steps taken per day is less important than when those steps are taken. Even with exercise, too much sitting is harmful to your health. While exercise does help, it doesn’t negate the effects of too much sitting completely. A runner getting 10,000 steps or more with one run, still needs to be mindful of how much sitting they are doing the rest of the day.
Rather than a goal of a certain number of steps, it may be more beneficial to set your fitness tracker for hourly reminders to get up and move. Even if you have a long run planned for after work, don’t neglect regular breaks away from your computer.
What’s the answer?
It’s not a one size fits all fitness goal. Taking 10,000 steps per day is probably beneficial for most people. Some will benefit from less, some from more. The bottom line is, the less sedentary you are and the less sitting you do all day, the better off you will be both physically and emotionally.
If you’re an active person that gets plenty of exercise, you may want to set your goal higher than 10,000 steps to ensure you aren’t doing too much sitting when you’re not running or working out. Or plan on frequent walk breaks if your day involves a lot of sitting.
To answer my original question, no, 10,000 is not a magical number. Yet, it’s an attainable number for most, and striving for a daily step goal can increase motivation to get people moving. But we can’t expect the same number to meet every person’s needs.
Reaching 10,000 steps doesn’t account for other factors important to your health such as diet, amount of time spent sitting, exercising with enough intensity to raise your heart rate, and the benefits of strength training. There’s a lot more to fitness and overall health than simply reaching 10,000 steps per day. Yet, tracking steps may help motivate you to move more during the day, and there’s no downside to that.
