If you’re looking to prolong your life without undergoing military training or fad diets that leave you raiding the fridge at 3:00 a.m., the solution may be right under your feet. No, we’re not talking about the living room carpet, but rather that your feet may be the key to transforming your health, one step at a time.
For years, the fitness industry has focused on unattainable goals that sounded great but intimidated the average person. Although exhaustive workouts, intermittent fasting, and the goal of 10,000 steps a day are all well and good, they seem almost impossible in the daily life of the average American. However, it seems that science has discovered an activity that is free, quite accessible, and can reduce our risk of premature death by 50% or more. If you don’t feel like dying right now, or you plan to enjoy the retirement you’ve worked so hard for, you may find this article interesting.
From marketing to science
Although it may sound exaggerated—reducing the risk of premature death by 50%—this statistic is backed by the most rigorous epidemiological studies of the last decade. Apparently, the secret to good health is not found in a gym membership, but in the daily accumulation of steps taken. Increasing our daily activity does not necessarily mean paying a monthly fee to join Planet Fitness or always reaching 10,000 steps. But where did that specific number come from?
Believe it or not, the figure of 10,000 steps has no scientific basis. Like so much of modern life, it comes from a rather successful marketing campaign in Japan. The advertising agency was trying to sell a pedometer during the 1964 Olympics, the Manpo-kei, a gadget that counted steps. They simply chose the number 10,000 because the Japanese symbol for this particular number looks like a person walking (万). It wasn’t based on any scientific study, but the campaign was a huge success, and 10,000 steps a day became a global standard for what is considered a good daily walk.
Current studies
Today’s researchers use accelerometers that accurately measure steps to calculate how many steps are sufficient to obtain maximum benefit. What they found was quite alarming: the average adult in the United States moves very little—between 4,000 and 5,000 steps per day—which is considered the statistical baseline for sedentary behavior. Participants who increased their walking to 8,000 steps per day showed a 51% lower risk of all-cause mortality compared to those who remained at only 4,000 steps. The 2020 observational study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) found that any increase in activity reduced the risk of premature death.
A couple of years later, the conclusion was corroborated by an extensive international meta-analysis published in The Lancet Public Health. More steps, lower risk. For every 1,000 additional steps taken daily, the risk of all-cause mortality decreased by 12%. The maximum longevity benefit was recorded for those who reached 10,000 steps, with a risk reduction of up to 56%.
How many steps should you take per day?
Although 8,000 steps is established as the “maximum return” goal, the optimal goal varies depending on age. Ultimately, activity must be sustainable to be effective. It’s not worth forcing ourselves to walk so many steps if the next day we’re going to be exhausted and unmotivated to keep walking.
Studies indicate that all adults under the age of 60 reduce their risk of death when they walk between 8,000 and 10,000 steps per day. For those over 60, this reduction in mortality reaches its maximum risk and stabilizes at a slightly lower figure: between 6,000 and 8,000 steps per day.
So don’t worry, you don’t have to walk 10,000 steps every single day. Although it’s good to walk as much as possible, your body will thank you for a slightly lower number. The point is to get moving and not sit on the couch. So you know what to do: put on your most comfortable shoes and go for a walk around your neighborhood!