The steps challenge – when less is more
Finding 10,000 steps a day too much of a challenge? Here’s some good news.
Turn walking into exercise
You can turn walking into exercise by walking regularly at a moderate pace - faster than you would normally walk but you are still able to speak comfortably.
Experts advise that any amount of walking is great for your health and there are many benefits to walking as an exercise. These include: it’s free; you can do it almost anywhere; you can do it while spending time with friends and family, it’s a way to meet others; it improves your physical and mental health; and it’s good for the environment, especially if you walk instead of driving.
It is recommended that older people have at least 30 minutes of moderate activity most days. Thirty minutes of walking is equal to around 4,000 steps.
If you can’t find time in your day to walk, or if you don’t yet have the fitness to walk far in one session, you can break it up. For example, take three short walks of 10 minutes each, or walk to the shops and back instead of driving. Slowly build up the length of walk and, once you build up fitness, add some hills or stairs.
Setting goals helps motivate you to walk. You can then increase your goals as you gain strength and fitness. You can also speak with your doctor about what goal to set, and how you can build up your physical activity by walking for exercise.
Some walking tips are available here.
First up, 10,000-plus is still the recommended daily number of steps to maximise heart health and improve overall mortality risk, if you can do so.
Having said that, researchers have delivered what many older people will find to be good news – that 7,000 steps a day can deliver excellent health benefits for a wide range of conditions including dementia, diabetes 2, mental health, cancer, and even heart disease.
While walking more than 10,000 steps can provide additional benefits, the Sydney University researchers found that those benefits “start to plateau” around 7,000 steps.
Walking 7,000 steps a day can lower the risk of an early death by up to 47%. Even a modest step count of 4,000 steps produced benefits compared with 2,000 steps.
Reviewing a large amount of data, the researchers examined the impact that different daily step counts have on the chance of dying from cardiovascular disease and cancer, and developing diseases such as cancer, type 2 diabetes, dementia, and depression.
Lead study author, Professor Melody Ding, said the findings offered a more achievable benchmark for people who struggle to meet traditional exercise guidelines.
“For those who are not very active or doing nothing, doing something is still good for you,” she said.
For dementia, walking 10,000 steps a day produced an extra 7% reduction in risk (compared with 7,000 steps).
The benefits of additional steps were slightly more pronounced for type 2 diabetes. Taking 10,000 steps produced an extra 8% risk reduction, and 12,000 steps added an extra 5% reduction on top of that.
Did you know?
The 10,000-step benchmark originated from a marketing campaign rather than a specific health objective. A Japanese company, Yamasa Corporation, built a campaign for its new step-tracker off the momentum of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. The pedometer’s brand name, Manpo-Kei, means “10,000 step meter” in English.
University of Melbourne Centre for Health, Exercise, and Sports Medicine director, Kim Bennell, told ABC News the study was important.
“We often get told 10,000 steps a day is what we [should] aim for, but that's not strictly evidence-based,” she said.
“The general message is you don’t need to be necessarily doing 10,000 steps to get benefits. Lower numbers can still be beneficial… and people are more likely to stick to it if they feel they can achieve it.”
The researchers are working with the Federal Government to use their findings to inform Australia’s national physical activity guidelines.
Related reading: Sydney University, ABC, HealthDirect
Disclaimer: This article is for information purposes only and should not be considered medical advice. Consult a healthcare professional about any health concerns or before making any changes to your medication, diet, or exercise routine.
