How many steps should you take per day?

Isabel del Barrio 6 min. of reading Well-being habits Leave a comment

Everything indicates you should reach at least 10,000 steps a day to be healthy, but is that really true? Where does this come from? How to improve your health and physical activity while walking

Do you need 10,000 steps a day?

Walking or taking a good number of steps a day (an average of 7,000 steps a day would improve health and life expectancy according to recent studies of different population groups) will increase your NEAT, i.e. your daily energy expenditure will be higher.

For this reason, walking is an activity that, when performed at a moderate intensity, helps in weight loss programmes and to combat obesity.

What is NEAT?If you still don’t know, we recommend checking out this Post.

Recommended steps based on age

As we’ve discussed before, the important thing is to increase your daily physical activity, and walking is the easiest tool to helps us improve our health.

Different studies have seen positive results in people who have gone from sedentary lifestyles to walking an average of 4,000 steps a day.

An average of around 7,000 steps is already considered a good level of physical activity to improve health and reduce the risk of diseases, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and obesity.

Children and adolescents

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), children should take an average of 12,000 steps a day. They’re in a period of growth and this type of stimulus will keep them active and can prevent diseases that can be chronic in the long term.

For adolescents, the recommended amount is around 15,000 steps per day.

The steps don’t have to be counted, but try to ensure that children engage in physical activity and exercise as part of their physical and cognitive development.

Currently, children lead a rather sedentary lifestyle because behaviours have changed towards a less active life, with fewer games on the street, more activity in front of screens, and less walking.

Adults, Seniors and Special Populations

The latest study, published in the scientific journal The Lancet, is a meta-analysis of 15 studies involving a total of 50,000 people.

Among their conclusions, they found that the risk of mortality in people over 60 years of age was reduced by 50% for those who increased their daily steps from about 3000 to around 7000.

In short, studies on the advantages and reduced risk of mortality and other diseases conclude that walking is incredibly beneficial.

And that between 4000 and 7000 steps a day, continuously as a habit, would be enough to significantly improve quality of life and well-being.

Why should you count your steps?

Step counting allows you to keep track of your daily physical activity and set short-term goals to maintain or increase your physical activity.

Smart watches and mobile apps are often able to count your steps.

Being able to count your daily steps is also an extra motivation to keep up good levels of physical activity to help us improve our physical and mental health.

Beware of Injuries

If you’re not used to physical activity, even walking, don’t risk dramatically increasing your number of daily steps. Go slowly, setting yourself small goals until you reach 7,000, 10,000 or 12,000 steps.

Starting with an ambitious goal can lead to muscle aches, sprains, or tendonitis.

And although we don’t want you to get hurt, we do recommend a solution: the anti-inflammatory properties of Turmeric Extract (50:1) 650mg + Bioperine®.

Tips for increasing your step count

To start enjoying a more active life, the important thing is to begin by establishing habits that are simple, easy to implement, and that allow us to increase our daily physical activity.

Walking is the easiest thing to do.

If you travel to work via public transport, get off a couple of stops early and walk.
If you work from home, take micro breaks every 2 hours and go for a walk around the block (this will help you improve your concentration as well).
Run errands on foot instead of taking the car.
Before starting or at the end of your strength training session in the gym, walk for 10 minutes on the treadmill.
Avoid taking the lift, always use the stairs.
Count your steps so that you have a reference for the amount of physical activity you do on a daily basis and set short-term goals.

Articles and references that address this topic:

Abbasi J. For Mortality, Busting the Myth of 10 000 Steps per Day. JAMA. 2019;322(6):492–493. doi:10.1001/jama.2019.10042
Lee I, Shiroma EJ, Kamada M, Bassett DR, Matthews CE, Buring JE. Association of Step Volume and Intensity With All-Cause Mortality in Older Women. JAMA Intern Med. 2019;179(8):1105–1112. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2019.0899
Schnohr P, O’Keefe JH, Lavie CJ, et al. U-Shaped Association Between Duration of Sports Activities and Mortality: Copenhagen City Heart Study. Mayo Clin Proc. 2021;96(12):3012-3020. doi:10.1016/j.mayocp.2021.05.028
Tudor-Locke, C., Bassett, D.R. How Many Steps/Day Are Enough? Sports Med 34, 1–8 (2004).

Related Entries

If you have a pet, you’re in luck, they’ll be a great for helping you increase your number of steps per day, as we tell you here
Completing your daily steps is a challenge, but they should only be the beginning. If you want to get really fit, I recommend following these tips.