The long-held belief of aiming for 10,000 steps a day to improve heart health gains credibility from a new study. While the origin of this target remains unclear, possibly linked to a Japanese marketing campaign, research now suggests there might be truth to it.
A team led by Matthew Ahmadi from the University of Sydney, Australia, analyzed data from over 72,000 participants in the UK Biobank study. These individuals wore wrist-worn activity trackers for a week and were then followed for an average of nearly seven years. During this period, researchers documented over 1,600 deaths and 6,000 heart-related events.
After accounting for factors like diet, smoking, and other forms of exercise, the study found that the sweet spot for daily steps appears to be between 9,000 and 10,000. Taking these many steps was linked to a significant decrease in both death risk (39%) and heart problems (21%).
This research adds weight to the idea of aiming for 10,000 steps for better heart health, although the benefits seem to plateau beyond this range.
"We were able to quantify daily steps," Dr Ahmadi told NewScientist.
The advice of 10,000 steps a day for good health didn't originate from scientists; it was invented by Japanese clock company Yamasa ahead of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. The company had created a personal-fitness pedometre called the Manpo-kei, which means "10000 steps metre."
"This paper helps the field take a great stride forward, pardon the pun, in refining the science that underpins physical activity and sedentary time guidelines," says Dale Esliger at Loughborough University in the UK. "It does appear to support the notion that the originally non-evidence based 10,000-step target may indeed be about right."
Featured Video Of The Day
WI vs NZ Highlights, 2nd Semi Final, ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2024: New Champion To Be Crowned As New Zealand Set Final Date With South Africa Day 3: India's Top-Order Fights To Salvage Opening Test vs New Zealand Pakistan vs England, 2nd Test Day 4, Highlights: Pakistan Script Mammoth 152-Run Win, Level Series At 1-1 MK Stalin Asks Centre To Recall Tamil Nadu Governor In Row Over Anthem Hamas Searching For Yahya Sinwar's Replacement Outside Gaza: Report Can Hamas Recover After Yahya Sinwar's Killing? What Experts Say 3 Decades Later, First Brown Dwarf Ever Found Offers A Surprise "We Have A Lot Of Interest In Indian Films": Putin Praises Bollywood Sugar Content In Baby Foods Among Issues Under Parliamentary Panel Scanner Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.