Walking 10,000 steps a day: a myth

Over time we got used to hearing and reading it everywhere We have to walk 10,000 steps a day to enjoy the benefits of walking. There are many people who are constantly looking for mobile applications to calculate the steps they take during the day until they reach the desired goal.

Walking 10,000 steps a day has become a law we all thought we had to abide by. but, Is it true that we should take exactly this number of steps each day to improve our cardiovascular health? Science makes it clear.

It must be taken into account that Global Health Organization (WHO) Focus not so much on the number of steps as on the quality and intensity of physical activity to be done on the other side, A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association It has been suggested that the optimal number of steps per day is 8,000. She notes that exceeding this amount will reduce the benefits, so there is no point in walking more if you want to improve your health.

Other published research scalpel It also says goodbye to the myth of 10,000 steps a day. They compiled fifteen studies conducted between 1999 and 2018 on nearly 50,000 adults. His conclusion was that For people over 60 years old, the ideal number is 7,000 steps per day.

The analysis also found that the risk of death was reduced by 50% in adults who increased their daily step count from 3,000 to 7,000.

Taking too many steps could be harmful

With the conclusions of various studies, the Scientists say that taking 10,000 steps a day can be harmful. This is because there is a point that instead of reducing the risk of death, continuing to walk increases it slightly.

Beyond the exact number of steps, the important thing is exercise. And the World Health Organization points out that the question is not the number of steps, but the time of physical activity that is performed during the daywhich varies according to the age of the person.

The World Health Organization recommends that adults ages 18 to 64 do 150 minutes of moderate physical activity per week, or 75 minutes of vigorous physical activity.