To the question of how much you need to walk a day, the answer immediately comes, which we seem to have learned by heart - 10 thousand steps. But in fact, this is not at all a mandatory norm. You can exhale - and in our article we will tell you how many steps a day you really need to take and why.

How many steps to take per day for health (dispelling the myth of 10 thousand)

Recently, there has been a lot of talk about how many steps a day you need to take. This is almost more important than nutrition and training . Moreover, the same figure sounds everywhere - 10,000. Where did it come from and is it true?


This "magic number" is a good target. But the idea that people should be doing 10,000 or more a day has already been partially debunked- experts say that the quantity is not so important as the quality of walking. Let's consider all the details of the issue.


How many steps a day for health you need to do: what scientists say

The 10,000 figure gained its popularity through pedometer companies and then the topic was picked up by the media, but there is no real scientific basis for 10,000 steps. This number came out of nowhere. Perhaps those who came up with it knew how much, on average, people actually do - about 6,000 per day - and simply set an arbitrary goal of 10,000, which they guessed would improve activity, because this number is simply higher. And so it stuck.


A study published by JAMA Internal Medicine tracked the number of steps per day taken by nearly 17,000 older women for 4 years. Those who did at least 4,400 a day were found to have a 41 percent lower mortality rate than women who did just 2,700. Then, the more daily steps women took over 4,400, the better, up to 7,500. when the benefits just stopped.


Another study found that in people over 60, walking 6,000 to 9,000 walks a day reduced their risk of cardiovascular disease by 40 to 50 percent compared to those who walked just 2,000.


Adults should get 150 to 300 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise or 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous exercise per week to reap the health benefits, according to scientists. If we translate this into steps, what numbers do we actually get? This is somewhere between 7000 and 8000 per day.


Generally experts don't try to make us walk less. Every experiment confirms that the more active we are, the better it is for our health. You just need to set more realistic goals for your lifestyle, and not be sad when you can’t keep up with too much. However, now the lifestyle of many has become more passive, and people do not even make 7500, and this is already bad.


What happens if you walk a little

In terms of how many health benefits regular walking provides, there is an inverse relationship between step count and susceptibility to diseases like hypertension and diabetes, meaning that the more you walk, the lower your risk of health problems. Humans are not designed for a sedentary lifestyle. You may have heard the expression “sedentary is the new smoking” and it is absolutely true. A large amount of time spent sitting is associated with an increased risk of diabetes and heart attacks, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, not to mention back pain.

10 thousand steps is how much:

In kilometers

We found out the answer to the question, how much per day you need to walk . And even if this figure turned out to be less, but what if you decide to walk exactly 10 thousand. And how much is it in general, if not measured in steps?

Depending on the length of your stride, the number of kilometers will vary.

However, there are some average numbers. So, the average step length of an adult is from 0.6 to 0.8 meters. According to rough estimates, 10 thousand is from 7.6 to 8 kilometers of walking.

In minutes

How long you need will depend on your fitness level and how big your stride is. At the same time, on average, it takes about 1 hour and 45 minutes to make 10 thousand. Not so much, agree.

How much you need to walk a day for health actually

There is no single clear number. After all, someone is engaged only in walking, someone combines it with training.

According to the experts, if you're doing 7500 a day, you're at an adequate activity level (although again, if you're walking 10,000 easily, keep up the good work). It is important that the motivation to do just that much does not go away - you don’t need to force yourself, you don’t need to do something through force.

It is important to set yourself an achievable goal that is really achievable. Less than 5,000 per day are considered sedentary. 7500 - moderately active.

If you want to increase them, do it gradually, little by little.

However, if the goal is to increase metabolism or lose weight, 10,000 steps may not actually be enough - someone needs to do all 15,000. But even in this case, you need to pick up the pace not immediately.

There is also a difference between "moderate intensity" walking, which is about 100 steps per minute, and "high intensity" walking, which is about 130 steps per minute. “It is not only how much you move during the day that matters, but also how fast you do it. You spend different amounts of energy, which gives different results.

The number of steps will always depend on a number of things: daily routine, responsibilities and lifestyle.

It makes no sense to try to pass 20,000 a day if you can’t do it well. Instead, find a number that suits your life.

How much do you need to walk to lose weight

To lose weight, you need to create a calorie deficit—in other words, burn more than you consume. Walking will help to do this, but it is also important to monitor nutrition, sleep, and stress.

First you need to calculate how many calories you need to consume , based on this, the figure of how many steps per day for weight loss you need to do is calculated.

INon average, you should aim to do between 10,000 and 12,500. Combined with an appropriate nutrient-rich diet, you will get a good result.

Of course, walking alone may not be the most effective way to lose weight, but it's better than nothing at all. However, for best results, it is recommended that you include one or two workouts per week in your habits.