Regular readers of this blog know at least two things.  First, I have not posted much in recent months, and second, I have written about walking off and on for years.

I’m not promising to get back on a regular schedule of blogging.  I’m enjoying “semi-retirement” and the schedule it allows me to keep.  In this post, we look at several aspects of walking programs, including:

• How did the idea of 10,000 steps per day originate?
• What are the potential benefits of regular walking?
• Are there detriments or tradeoffs to know about?
• What does current research say about the benefits of walking?

Perhaps I will augment the discussion in future posts.

By way of background, I have been focused, to greater or lesser degrees, on exercise and movement for many years.  When the original Fitbit Tracker was introduced in 1999, I was an early purchaser.  I have been a member of “Fitbit Premium,” a program where they charge more for a few additional features, since 2001.

I was an early proponent of the benefits of walking 10,000 steps, or about five miles, per day.  So what?  I am not a medical professional.  But I have been active athletically all of my adult life even though I was more consistent for some periods and less consistent for other periods.

Beginning December 15, 2019, I began a walking program with the initial goal of walking 10,000 steps per day.  I revised the goal after some time to 5.0 miles per day, or, for me, about 10,500 steps per day.  Since that walking program began, I have walked an average of 5.6 miles per day, or 11,837 steps per day.  Yes, I do have the statistics.  More on that in a future post.

Where did the idea that 10,000 steps was some magic bromide for enhanced health come from?  Surely, it was based on scientific or medical research?  Nope.

Where Did the Concept of “10,000 Steps” Come From?

The “10,000 steps” concept originated not from medical science, but from marketing. In 1965, a Japanese company, Yamasa Clock and Instrument Co., released a pedometer called the “manpo-kei,” which translates to “10,000 steps meter.” The name was catchy, easy to remember, and aligned with the growing fitness culture in Japan leading up to the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.

The number itself wasn’t based on clinical research. Instead, it likely had aesthetic appeal — the Japanese character for 10,000 (万) resembles a person walking, reinforcing the marketing image.

Despite its commercial roots, the 10,000-step target gained traction over decades, becoming a global benchmark, especially with the rise of fitness trackers like Fitbit and Apple Watch. These devices adopted the figure as a default daily goal, turning it into a de facto standard for physical activity.

It took a while, but researchers began to study the benefits of walking and they seem to conclude that many of the benefits attributable to 10,000 steps per day are available at lower levels of activity.  We will look at some of this research later.

By the 2010s, 10,000 steps became a pop culture symbol of wellness, amplified by wearable tech, workplace challenges, and wellness apps.

What are the Benefits of Regular Walking?

As my running days became numbered by recurring injuries, aches, and pains around the mid-to-late 1990s, I turned to walking as a primary source of exercise.  I also played handball for many years, and, in 2017, I picked up pickleball as a fun form of exercise and community.

What are the potential benefits of walking 10,000 steps per day?  The following potential benefits come from some research and a bit of common sense.  Personal comments are in italics.

• Cardiovascular Health: Walking at the level of 10,000 steps per day consistently improves heart health, lowers blood pressure, and reduces the risk of stroke.  I can affirm that my blood pressure is much better than at the beginning of the program.  Full disclosure — I take a small dose of blood pressure medicine.  My cholesterol levels are much improved.  My resting heart rate averages between 65 and 70 beats per minute.  And I have avoided a stroke since beginning the program.  Lucky so far!

• Weight Management: Walking burns roughly 100 calories per mile depending on pace, weight, and terrain.  This calorie burn helps with weight control.  Your mileage may vary.  In addition, the elevated heart rate from walking helps to extend calorie burn above sedentary levels for awhile. My weight is down in the range of 16 to 18 pounds (with some variance) since December 2019.  Full disclosure — I also manage my intake of food and drink.  My goal is to burn about the same or a bit fewer calories than I consume on average and over time.  I do this mainly from habit now, rather than actually counting calories consumed.  My Fitbit Sense 2 does measure my consumption of calories with its activity algorithms, so I do measure the consumption part of the equation. We will discuss the relationship between exercise and diet in more depth later.

• Mental Health: Regular walking reduces symptoms of anxiety and depression, boosts mood, and enhances cognitive performance.  I am not anxious very often and am certainly not depressed.  I maintain a pretty good mood and my cognitive performance remains at high (for me) levels.

• Metabolic Health: Improves insulin sensitivity, reduces risk of Type 2 diabetes. My A1C levels are in the low normal range and my doctor says my risk of Type 2 diabetes is very low.

• Longevity: Studies link higher daily step counts to lower all-cause mortality.  I’m five and a half years older than I was when I started my consistent walking program.  I’m no spring chicken.  I’m an early Baby Boomer.  But my overall health remains good.  With work and a bit of luck I may be around for a fair amount longer.

• Musculoskeletal Strength: Improves joint mobility, muscle tone, and bone density (especially helpful with age).  Given my walking, a fair amount of pickleball, and a bit of exercise, I think my musculoskeletal strength is okay.  I still have all my original moving parts and they work well.

• Functional Independence: Preserves mobility and reduces fall risk as people age.  Walking strengthens my feet, ankles, and legs.  Also, when walking, I try to be sure to maintain good posture.  I’ve made it a habit to check my posture when I’m walking by reflecting windows or mirrors.  So far, I’m still as tall as I was forty years ago.  As we age, falling is a leading cause of rapid decline or death.  Flexibility also helps here, so I do some regular exercises to maintain flexibility.

All I can say is that I am all in on the benefits of a regular walking program — and my long-term goal is 5.0 miles per day or more, on average.  I have learned that it is okay to fall short on a given day.  I just make it up later.

Potential Detriments or Tradeoffs of Regular Walking

• Overuse Injuries: Risk of joint pain, plantar fasciitis, shin splints, or stress fractures if shoes, terrain, or biomechanics are poor.  I haven’t had issues with walking injuries, thankfully.  During my running years, I had plantar fasciitis, shin splints and assorted other injuries.  For me, walking has mitigated most of these issues.  I did have issues last year with the meniscus on both my left and right knee.  After one cortisone shot and use of good knee braces, I’ve worked through those issues.  

• Time Commitment: About 75–90 minutes daily depending on pace — significant, especially for busy professionals.  It does take time to walk 10,000 steps or 5.0 miles.  During my running years, I could consistently run 5 miles in about 40-45 minutes.  It takes longer to walk the same distance.  I think of the time commitment this way.  I need a block of about an hour, give or take, to walk ~3.5 miles in the morning.  If I am conscious of movement during the rest of the day, it is usually no problem to hit 5.0 miles.  On pickleball mornings, I play 2-2.5 hours and normally get 3.5 to 4.0 miles during each session.  It is downhill from there for the rest of the day.  The bottom line is that any form of regular exercise or sports participation requires a significant commitment of time.

• Diminishing Returns: Beyond a certain step threshold, some studies show that added benefits flatten out.  I have not yet experienced what I believe to be diminishing returns from my walking program.

• False Sense of Fitness: Walking alone, especially at slow pace, may not provide adequate cardiovascular conditioning or muscle strength for some goals.  I don’t believe that I am experiencing a false sense of fitness.  I do walk alone most of the time, but at pace.  Based on my heart rate monitor, I am walking in a fitness zone.

In short, I have not experienced what I believe to be any adverse trade-offs from walking an average of 5.6 miles per day for the last five and a half years.

We now look at research that suggests that fewer steps than 10,000 per day can provide significant benefit.

Research Suggesting Walking Less Than 10,000 Steps per Day Provides Significant Benefits

Some studies indicate that significant health benefits are available to levels of walking significantly below 10,000 steps per day.  One prominent study was conducted at the Harvard Medical School.

Harvard Medical School / JAMA Internal Medicine (2019)

The study is named as Association of Step Volume and Intensity With All-Cause Mortality in Older Women.

The authors include I-Min Lee, MBBS, ScD; Eric J. Shiroma, ScD; Masamitsu Kamada, PhD; et al.

The study design is described in the abstract of the article as:

This prospective cohort study included 18,289 US women from the Women’s Health Study who agreed to participate by wearing an accelerometer during waking hours for 7 days between 2011 and 2015. A total of 17,708 women wore and returned their devices; data were downloaded successfully from 17,466 devices. Of these women, 16,741 were compliant wearers (≥10 h/d of wear on ≥4 days) and included in the analyses, which took place between 2018 and 2019.

The findings of the article are summarized in the abstract as:

In this cohort study of 16,741 women with a mean age of 72 years, steps per day were measured over 7 days. Women who averaged approximately 4,400 steps/d had significantly lower mortality rates during a follow-up of 4.3 years compared with the least active women who took approximately 2,700 steps/d; as more steps per day were accrued, mortality rates progressively decreased before leveling at approximately 7,500 steps/d.

This study suggests that mortality continues to decrease with more than 4,400 steps per day and levels off at about 7,500 steps per day.  As for me, I’ll continue to aim for the higher level of 10,000 steps per day.

2022 Meta-Analysis / The Lancet Public Health

The next study is named as: Daily step count and all-cause mortality: a dose–response meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies.  It was published in The Lancet Public Health in March 2022.  The authors were: Amanda E Paluch, Shivangi Bajpai, David R Bassett, et al.  Quoting from the study’s introduction (footnotes omitted):

Physical activity can reduce morbidity and mortality due to multiple chronic conditions, including cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and several cancers, and is associated with better quality of life. The number of steps acquired per day is a simple measure of physical activity. Monitoring daily steps is more feasible than ever for the general public as fitness trackers and mobile devices have become increasingly popular.   Although the goal of 10 000 steps per day is widely promoted as being optimal for general health, it is not based on evidence, but instead originates from a marketing campaign in Japan.

Some of the study’s findings are summarized here:

In this meta-analysis of 15 studies, seven published and eight unpublished, we found that taking more steps per day was associated with progressively lower mortality risk, with the risk plateauing for older adults (aged ≥60 years) at approximately 6000–8000 steps per day and for younger adults (aged <60 years) at approximately 8000–10 000 steps per day. We found inconsistent evidence that step intensity had an association with mortality beyond total volume of steps…

There are currently no evidence-based public health guidelines recommending the number of steps per day for health benefits. Our findings suggest mortality benefits, particularly for older adults, can be seen at levels less than the popular reference of 10 000 steps per day.  Adults taking more steps per day have a progressively lower risk of all-cause mortality, up to a level that varies by age. Our findings can be used to inform step guidelines for clinical and population promotion of physical activity.

More specifically, the study observes:

In this meta-analysis of 15 studies, seven published and eight unpublished, we found that taking more steps per day was associated with progressively lower mortality risk, with the risk plateauing for older adults (aged ≥60 years) at approximately 6000–8000 steps per day and for younger adults (aged <60 years) at approximately 8000–10 000 steps per day. We found inconsistent evidence that step intensity had an association with mortality beyond total volume of steps.

We did not find that high step volumes [greater than the ranges above] were associated with increased risk of mortality…(emphasis added)

The Lancet Public Health Study finds that a range of 8.000 to 10,000 daily steps is where mortality risk plateaus for those under 60 years of age.  That to me seems close to affirming that 10,000 steps per day is in a healthy range.  Since I am in the over 60 years group, I can affirm that averaging more than 5.0 miles per day for five and a half years has helped keep me alive so far!  At least, this study finds that higher step volumes do not appear to be harmful and to increase the risk of mortality.

There are a number of other studies, but their overall conclusions can generally be summarized in the following table.

Step Count                               Health Impact
Under 4,000/day                       Sedentary, elevated health risks
4,000–6,000/day                       Noticeable reduction in mortality risk, improved mobility
6,000–8,000/day                       Strong cardiovascular and longevity benefits
8,000–10,000/day                     Additional, but smaller, incremental benefits
10,000+ steps/day                    Maintenance, enhanced endurance, mental boost (possible wear/tear issues)

While the two studies discussed above control for broad lifestyle variables (e.g., smoking, BMI, some dietary habits), I am aware of no studies yet that attempt to determine any synergistic impact of walking and diet on longevity or general health.  Common sense suggests that there would be synergistic benefits from regular walking and maintaining a sensible diet.

Wrapping Up for Today

The original concept behind 10,000 steps per day was not developed as result of medical research.  It was a marketing idea by a Japanese company designed to sell their line of pedometers.  The concept caught on in popular culture before medical researchers began to dig in and study.  Research and common sense suggest that regular exercise over time is conducive to better health and longevity.  Is 10,000 steps the magic bullet for better health and longer lives?  I don’t know that there are any magic bullets for success in any area of life.  However, regular walking over an extended period has measurably improved my health and helped me to lose significant weight and keep it off (mostly) over an extended period.

The so-called detriments or trade-offs noted above seem fairly weak to me and are not trade-offs at all.  That is just me.