The 10,000 Step LIE That’s Keeping You Sick
You bought the fitness tracker and downloaded the app. You’re all set to transform your health through walking.
Hands down, walking is one of the best activities you can do for your health, so you’re pumped to get started. Then you see the magic number staring back at you: 10,000 steps per day.
Suddenly, your enthusiasm deflates.
Five miles? Every single day? You haven’t walked five miles total in the past month and now you’re supposed to do it daily?
Feeling discouraged, you give up before you even start.
But the truth is, that 10,000-step obsession is doing more harm than good. And it’s based on marketing, not medicine.
A 1960s Japanese marketing campaign for a pedometer called “Manpo-kei”—which translates to “10,000-step meter”—is responsible for the persistent 10,000-step myth.
It was literally dreamed up by a marketer to sell pedometers.
But with a number like that, many people are discouraged and never even start tracking their steps. And who can blame them? Completing ten thousand steps is about five miles per day at a brisk pace!
Besides that, it’s simply unnecessary to walk that distance to reap the rewards of walking.
Researchers recently analyzed 57 studies involving hundreds of thousands of people to determine the real relationship between step counts and various health conditions.
What they discovered is the magic number isn’t 10,000 steps—not even close.
Starting at just 2,000 steps per day—a 20-minute walk—people began seeing significant reductions in their risk of heart disease, cancer, and all-cause mortality. The benefits then essentially maxed out at 7,000 steps per day. Going beyond that provided minimal additional health improvements.
So, what exactly can you expect from walking 7,000 steps? Compared to those walking 2,000 steps per day, the 7,000 steppers had a:
- 47 percent lower risk of all-cause mortality
- 25 percent lower risk of heart disease and 47 percent lower risk of dying from it
- 6 percent lower risk of cancer and a 37 percent lower risk of dying from it
- 14 percent lower risk of type 2 diabetes
- 38 percent lower risk of dementia
- 22 percent lower risk of depressive symptoms
- 28 percent lower risk of falls
These aren’t modest improvements—they’re life-changing reductions that rival the effects of many medications.
The 10,000-step myth has convinced millions that health benefits require heroic effort. Stop chasing an arbitrary number created by marketers and start celebrating the scientifically-proven benefits that come from simply moving your body a reasonable amount each day.
If you want to want to walk five miles daily, go for it! It’s just not necessary in order to get the benefits. Your health doesn’t require perfection. It just requires consistency.
P.S. Discover what your walk reveals about your health.
View Sources
Ding, Ding et al., Daily steps and health outcomes in adults: a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis, The Lancet Public Health, 08.25, Volume 10, Issue 8, e668 – e681
