Scientists Finally Did a Study to See If Taking 10,000 Steps a Day Actually Matters. Here's What They Found

Taking 10,000 steps a day is good for you, even if it was from a book or a post on a website.

It makes sense. Exercise is good for your health. There is a nice scientific ring to 10,000. The number of 10,000 steps that was advertised in a pamphlet or article had no research behind it. It was dreamed up for a Japanese marketing campaign.

It's a good idea to get up and move more. Science had no idea if there was a magic number of steps for health. A team from the University of Massachusetts Amherst decided to conduct a study to determine how many steps you really should aim for.

The research followed 2,110 middle-aged adults who wore a step-counting fitness device for the next eleven years. Were those who managed 10,000 steps a day less likely to end up dead?

The researchers found that getting more exercise is good. Six thousand steps beats 5,000 and 5,000 steps beats 4,000 for health outcomes. They did not find anything special about 10,000 steps, except for the fact that it did not bring any additional health benefits. 7,000 steps seemed to be an important point. The chance of premature death was reduced by 50 to 70 percent if participants took that many steps.

The study leader said that 7,000 steps a day may be a great goal for many people.

That doesn't mean you can't walk more. Longer walks are likely to be more effective if you want to lose weight. A lot of research shows that walking can help improve your creativity and keep your brain young. It is a big, beautiful world. You can explore it on your feet.

If you want to stay healthy and reduce your chances of dying early, there is nothing magical about the number 10,000. Don't feel obligated to go around the block in the dark until you hit your daily target if your fitness device says you managed less steps than that one day. 7,000 steps will suffice when it comes to maintaining health.