Is it true that you need to take 10,000 steps per day for health?

It is generally accepted that the level of mobility necessary to maintain health is 10,000 steps per day. We decided to check if this indicator is confirmed by any scientific research.

The fact that a day you need to take 10,000 steps, write numerous sites And Media About a healthy lifestyle. On the number c 10,000 steps Oriented sports Applications Almost everyone Fitness scraps and smartphones. The number is called scientifically based. For example, The Village claims: “10,000 steps -“ The figure is not from the head, it consists of simple calculations. According to physiologists, physical activity should occupy an hour or a little over a day to maintain health. During this time, a person at a vigorous pace will take an average of about 8 km, which is equivalent to 10,000 steps, depending on the width of the step. ”

And the site is one of the Central District Hospital of the Republic of Komi tellsthat the cherished number of steps will fill the lungs with oxygen and increase their volume, ensure the effective prevention of diseases such as heart failure, heart attack, hypertension, relieve stress, reduce the risk of depression and varicose, will help lose weight, increase the chances of getting pregnant in women and improve the quality of sperm in men.

Walking is one of the simplest sports training, besides, it does not require almost any special equipment, except perhaps comfortable shoes. Unlike most other sports, walking almost There are no contraindications. When walking Unable Many legs muscles (quadriceps and biceps of the thighs, calf muscles), a large gluteal muscle works, get the load of the press, deltoid muscles, biceps and triceps of the hands, and muscles bark The role of a stabilizer is played. Sports walking even Included The list of Olympic athletics disciplines. 

Universal Standard of Mobility of 10,000 Steps appeared In Japan on the eve of the 1964 Olympic Games. Yamasa Toki Developed And she introduced the world's first Shagomer called Manpo-Kei, where Man meant “10,000”, and Kei-“Step”. It is assumed that such a name was also chosen because the hieroglyph, meaning this phrase, resembled a walking person - 万. The developers also referred to study Yoshiro Hatano, professor at the University of Kyusu. Concerned about the problems of a sedentary lifestyle and overeating, professor Calculatedthat with the volumes of food that the middle -aged Japanese men in 1964, they should take 10,000 steps so as not to gain excess weight. However, the beautiful number was torn from the context, when the manufacturers of the Shagomers began to use it as marketing promotion of their products, and the Ministry of Health and Social Support of Japan included it in the list of national goals of improving the health of the nation. So, the norm based on only one study and originally designed for middle -aged men with a dietary diet for 1964 began to be used as a universal indicator of the necessary mobility.

Later studies have shown that the number of 10,000 steps cannot be considered universal. AI-Min Lee Medicine Professor from Harvard Medical School Sicked 16 741 A woman aged 70 years, analyzed their level of mobility and life expectancy. She watched them for four years and noted that the mortality rate was lower than those who took more than 4400 steps per day, compared to those who took an average of 2700 steps. At the same time, the risk of mortality was reduced in proportion to the steps only until 7,500 steps per day reached, and then remained unchanged.

In 2011, the Canadian public health agency was aimed at Bring out A new, current norm for the number of steps per day for an average person. Having selected 837 publications on the topic of the relationship between the number of steps and various health indicators in English, published in the reviewed magazines since 2000, the researchers came to the conclusion that the optimal number of steps per day is from 7,000 to 8000. The report is also given attention not only to the duration of walking, but also by its intensity.

To the question of what is more important: how long or how to walk quickly, scientists from the British University of Sheffield Hallama tried to answer. They Compared Two groups of volunteers. The former had to take 10,000 steps at any pace, the second three times a day reached 10-minute intense walks. And although the second performed on average only 3,000 steps, their load volume was 30% more, therefore, they received more health benefits. At the same time, the participants themselves admitted that they liked short intensive walks more than long and monotonous walking.

As for the psychological aspects of reaching 10,000 steps, scientific data vary. Scientists from the University of Victoria (Melbourne, Australia) Sicked 1963 Volunteers (1458 men and 505 women) aged 16 to 74 years. They were told about the positive impact of the fulfillment of the daily mobility on mental health and asked to fill in the two everywhere used by the determination of depression and anxiety until 100-day follow the rule of 10,000 steps and after. Statistically significant improvements in the mental state after the completion of the experiment were noted in a group that regularly fulfilled the norm of mobility. However, those who did not reach the cherished indicator reported on the stabilization of the mental state. 

From this study, we could conclude that not the very achievement of the goal, but only the desire for it can improve our spiritual health. However, Jodan Etkin, professor from the University of Duke, discoveredthat those who monitor the number of their own steps per day are really more active than those who do not use steps. At the same time, the former receive less pleasure from walking and demonstrate a lower level of happiness at the end of the day, since "focusing on the result makes pleasant activities more like work, which reduces the pleasure received from them."

Etkin’s conclusions are confirmed research motivation of British schoolchildren. For 13-14 years, volunteers were given sports bracelets with tracking daily activity, asked to observe a norm of 10,000 steps a day and conducted a series of psychological texts and focal interviews after eight weeks of wearing them. During this period, adolescents have significantly decreased the motivation to adhere to this goal, satisfaction from activity and self -confidence. In an interview, they reported that “they felt under pressure because they tried to take a certain number of steps and seem better than really”, and also said that “when they understood that it was now 7 o’clock in the evening, and only a dozen steps were passed, they felt very bad.” Regular tracking of their progress was an additional stress factor for them.

Thus, no modern study confirms that it is 10,000 steps - the gold standard for maintaining physical form. The most optimal is the indicator between 7000 and 8000 steps. And in the event that you don’t like monotonous leisurely walking, it can be replaced with slightly short, but intense walks. Moreover, experiments show that a clearly given bar can both improve psychological health and reduce motivation and self -confidence due to the fact that not everyone has the opportunity to achieve the result every day. 

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