More and more people are tracking the number of steps they take each day. The magic limit is 10,000. As early as the 1960s, this was a popular target number among Japanese hiking clubs, but what does the science say?
Quest writes that the average man burns about 300 calories with 10,000 steps. It depends on your stride length, of course, but 10,000 steps is generally equivalent to about eight kilometers of walking.
Is this enough to maintain your health? According to researchers at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center, people who exercise moderately for at least half an hour each day take about 8,000 to 9,000 steps per day. You can see this exercise standard as a minimum. More exercise is good, too.
A meta-study conducted by researchers at the University of Massachusetts in the US concluded that the optimal amount of steps per day depends on your age. They analyzed fifteen previous studies on the relationship between daily walking and longevity. Agitated walkers on average gain a number of extra years of life compared to less fit subjects.
Adults under the age of 60 should take 8,000 to 10,000 steps daily. More does not affect life expectancy according to the study. Over the age of 60 you can go 6000 to 8000 steps.
