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You've got a fitness goal, whether it's weight loss or just implementing healthier habits into your lifestyle. You decide to find some advice online and one of the things you've come across is making sure you complete 10,000 steps a day. In fact you've not only seen it once, everyone online seems to be preaching that 10k steps is essential for weight loss goals. But why?
In this post we are going to discuss whether 10,000 steps a day is essential for weight loss and why it can be so important.
WHY DO WE TRACK STEPS?
Before we proceed with some of the science, we need to understand why counting steps is important. Tracking your steps is one method of many to get an insight into how active you are. For example, a day where you only do 5,000 steps can be considered a less active day than one where you did 10,000. It is just like how weighing yourself doesn't tell you your body fat percentage, but you can assume that when you lose weight you have lost fat.
Bu there is another layer to this. Today you might go to the gym and have a really intense workout, but you'll find that your step count is not very high. So does this mean you haven't had a very active day? Well no, but steps don't count activity from working out, they track non-exercise-activity-thermogenesis, or NEAT. NEAT accounts for the calories you burn in a day outside of dedicated exercise, such as the gym. NEAT activities range from walking the dog to fidgeting and even blinking. Tracking your step count is a measurement of your NEAT for the day, not your total activity.
WHY IS NEAT IMPORTANT?
NEAT equates for up to 15% of total calories burnt in a day. Whilst this doesn't sound like loads, exercise activity thermogenesis (EAT) is only 5-10%. This mean you burn more calories from activities like walking and fidgeting than you do when you go the gym for an hours workout?!
So NEAT has a significant impact on your calorie expenditure, which some people might think of as their metabolism. Especially if you have a weight management goal, this can be a really important part of your day.
WHY 10,000 steps?
The idea of 10,000 steps actually came from a very clever marketing campaign for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. 10,000 was chosen because the Japanese symbol for the number looked like a person walking!
Whilst this is absurdly odd, it makes it easier to understand that 10,000 steps a day isn't an all size fits all goal. Just like all fitness goals, they are unique to the individuals current fitness levels. Whilst 10k is a reasonable step count for most, don't be afraid to set the bar higher or lower depending on your current state of fitness.
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF 10,000 STEPS A DAY?
On top of accelerating weight management goals, the 10,000 step goal has a lot more health benefits that everyone should consider even if your fitness goal isn't to lose weight.
Research suggests that walking 9,800 steps a day is the “optimal dose” for lowering the risk of dementia by 50%. Getting your 10,000 steps done outside can help relieve symptoms of anxiety and depression
Research published by the JAMA Internal Medicine Journal explored the possibility of a lower risk of premature death for every 2,000 steps walked in a day
A study in JAMA Neurology found a possible link between walking 10,000 steps per day and a reduced risk of developing cardiovascular disease, 13 types of cancer, stroke, and heart failure
Research indicates a link between walking and improved mental clarity and the creative flow of ideas.
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