It may be time to take the pressure off everyone who wants to meet the goal of walking 10,000 steps each day. Studies are helping researchers re-think just how many steps people need to make to benefit their health. The 10,000 target was a marketing tool recommended by a pedometer company in Japan in 1965, and the number stuck.
Studies consistently show that walking improves heart and mental health and reduces the risk of diabetes. Now researchers at Harvard Medical School found that fewer numbers of steps can accomplish these goals. Forty-four hundred steps are enough to lower the risk of death in women significantly. The more one walked, the lower the risk of death became, although it leveled off at 7,500 steps.
It is essential to move every day, whether through vigorous exercise or moderate-intensity physical activity, to mitigate a sedentary life’s adverse effects. Other research found that walking fewer than 5,000 steps a day results in your body being less able to metabolize fat the following day which can increase the likelihood of developing cardiovascular disease. Bottom line is that the 10,000 step per day goal for better health may actually be as effective if you cut that in half to 5,000 steps!
Read HERE to learn more!