Since the invention of various applications like Fitbit and others, we have been able to find the ideal number of steps that should be taken per day.
All your fitness goal trackers will set 10,000 steps as the ideal number of steps to be taken per day in order to sustain a healthy lifestyle.
Most of the people are recommended to walk at least five miles per day. Fitbit also recommends an exercise of at least 30 minutes per day, which makes up for the perfect 150 minutes of exercise per week.
Although your fitness goal will change and vary according to your needs.
People often ask the question “How many steps should I take per day in order to stay healthy?”
Well, here is the answer.
Are 10,000 steps really essential?
A pedometer company in Japan set the goal of 10,000 steps to be the required number of steps to be taken per day, in the 1960s.
Hence, immediately this gained momentum and was soon adopted by the walking clubs. Although, no particular research was done for it. Since it sounded efficient it gained momentum.
After this step was adopted, researchers conducted various studies so as to determine if it was really effective.
The result of the studies showed that the 10,000 steps per day were nearly equivalent to the sufficient amount of physical exercise which should be done per day in order to remain fit.
Hence, now all the fitness activity trackers consider 10,000 steps as the ideal number.
Is 10000 steps per day too much or enough?
Many fitness activity trackers are conducting researches to determine whether these number of steps are enough or too much for the sufficient “moderate-to-vigor intensity physical activity”.
Fitbit considers 30 minutes of daily exercise can help to reduce health risks. So, if someone takes 3000 steps each day at a speed of 100 steps per minute, one can achieve the goal of 30 minutes of daily exercise.
Even if you take few steps more on a per day basis, you are likely to make a huge difference in your fitness routine.
It has often been found that 6000 steps on daily basis may probe danger to the health of the people. 10,000 steps on a daily basis are risky for elderly people or people suffering from diseases.
According to CDC, if you wish to lose more weight, you should do an intense exercise of about 60 to 90 minutes on a daily basis. This will help you to prevent weight gain and also aid in shredding off any extra weight.
Hence, if you wish to shed off weight, you may need to add more 3000 or 6000 steps to your daily activity. This amounts to 15000 steps per day.
Researchers have said that 10,000 steps are too less for children. Children require twice the amount of “moderate-to-vigorous-intensity physical activity”, on a daily basis which is equivalent to 60 minutes.
The pedometers suggest that the children aged from 6 to 12, should take 12000 steps for girls and 15000 for boys.
Benefits of taking 10,000 steps daily
Taking 10,000 steps daily can help to stabilize blood pressure and hypertension in case of men. It can also reduce the risk of heart diseases and enhance the blood flow in your body.
Since it amounts to the required amount of physical exercise daily, it can also improve the physical and psychological well-being, thereby improving the conditions of the body.
The following are a few more advantages of taking 10,000 steps daily:-
General Fitness Gain
For someone who is recovering from an injury or new to exercise, calculating the number of steps can be really helpful. It will aid in improving your health conditions.
Mayo Clinic recommends that an average of 1000 steps must be added each week, therefore, if you started off with 4000 steps every day, you should take 5000 steps the next week. Adding extra five minutes of walk and increasing your pace, will help you to meet your goal.
Weight Loss
A vigorous exercise on a daily basis can also help to shed off a lot of weight and remain fit.
Taking 10,000 steps per day can burn out 2000 to 3500 extra calories.
Hence, if you take this number of steps daily apart from the daily exercise, you lose some extra pounds per week.
Maintaining Health
Taking 10,000 steps daily can help regulate blood pressure and also induce your mental activity. It is also found to be relieving depression and improving sleep quality. A study of California State University has shown that your daily physical activity has an influence on your mood.
How active are you? On the Basis of a Number of Steps
Catrine Tudor of University of Massachusetts since many years had been studying the advantages of pedometer walking. The number of steps you take daily, determines your activity level.
Hence, the list is as follows:
Sedentary Lifestyle Index: Taking under 5000 steps is considered to be inactive which may probe health risks.
Low active: Taking about 5000 to 7499 steps per day can be a sign of being very less active. This does not include your daily exercise.
A bit active: People taking 7500 to 9000 steps on a daily basis including their physical activity are considered to be a bit active.
Active: People taking 10,000 steps on a daily basis are considered to be active. This is the daily goal for people who wish to improve their health conditions.
Highly active: People who take more than 12500 steps daily are considered to be very active.
Some studies conducted these days, show that taking 15000 steps daily can help you gain your goal of losing excess weight immediately. However, this is quite tough for working men as it consumes about 3.5 hours daily.
Experts say that people should focus more on receiving the goal, rather than pushing oneself to achieve it. Some say, 10,000 is ideal whereas some say 15000 is ideal. This obsession for a little extra is too much.
Your health conditions too, determine the number of steps you take per day. Make sure you adjust your daily step goals so that you can remain healthy.
In order to increase your physical activity, make sure you take the number of steps that are essential for maintaining the health.
You can always opt to increase your step counts as per your needs. How many steps you take per day determines your health.
Therefore, you shoud be careful with your steps.