So how many steps do we need to take a day to be healthy?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends adults get 150 minutes of moderate activity a week, such as brisk walking. That’s about 7,000 to 8,000 steps a day.
If you use a smart pedometer or fitness tracker like a Fitbit, you may be encouraged to take 10,000 steps a day. Experts say that while 10,000 steps a day recommendation is a good number to reach, any amount of activity beyond what you are currently doing is good for your health.
Pedometers sold in Japan in the 1960’s were marketed under the name “manpo-kei” which means 10,000 steps meter,” said Catrine Tudor-Locke, director of the Walking Behavior Laboratory at Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, La. “The idea resonated with people and gained popularity with Japanese walking groups,” she said.
Tudor-Locke believes there is not a single strategy to increase your step count – each person has to find out what works for them. The most important thing is to increase your activity beyond what you were doing before.
Dr. Clay Marsh, chief innovation officer at Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center agreed, and said that people don’t need to feel like they have to achieve 10,000 steps a day to be active. “We just want people to get up and get started,” he said. Huffposthealth 3/11/14