Counting the Steps - Hastings Handbook Jan 2008



Have you heard the recommendation that we take 10,000 steps each day to keep fit and healthy? Frankly it sounded to me like an unrealistic expectation but curiosity got the better of me and I decided to face the truth… it turns out that clipping a pedometer to my belt was the most motivational exercise aid I’ve ever used.
It might sound like a fad or just the latest in government-quotas, but the idea that we should take 10,000 steps a day to stay healthy is not a new one. About 40 years ago the premise was developed in Japan, where studies found that by walking 10,000 steps a day, a person could keep fit and reduce their risk of heart problems without taking additional exercise. Now 10,000 steps is the international standard, promoted by the NHS, British Heart Foundation and many health professionals all over the world. GPs are even prescribing pedometers to patients who are overweight or have a history of heart disease, so motivational have they proven to be. 10,000 steps amounts to about 5 miles (8km) and when it includes half an hour of brisk walking, burns off about 500 calories. So over a week, taking 10,000 steps a day could burn 1lb of fat. Just think: 5lbs in a month without even dieting! The average person takes a rather paltry 3,500 to 5,000 steps a day, but it is surprising that even a lazy day spent mostly in front of the TV can result in 2,000 steps around the house. So if a pedometer can motivate us to walk the extra while we’re wearing it, does it have any long-term benefits once the novelty’s worn off? Research by the Countryside Agency, which launched a Walking for Health initiative four years ago, suggests it does. It found that half of a sample of people who began using pedometers two years ago are still using them. And 93% say they are still walking more as a result. I can say myself that wearing the counter for a week has certainly had a lasting effect, encouraging me to leave the car at home and put one foot in front of the other instead. It has given me a good idea of how many steps I can amass with a return trip into town (about 4,000) and just how far off my target I’ll be if I sit hunched over my desk all day with the odd trip to the kettle. The only draw-back to walking is the time it takes. But on the days I am otherwise sedentary, I now make a point of taking the time to tread my way towards that 10,000 total. After all, that extra hour or so I spend exercising each day might just result in an extra few years on this planet!

Have you heard the recommendation that we take 10,000 steps each day to keep fit and healthy? Frankly it sounded to me like an unrealistic expectation but curiosity got the better of me and I decided to face the truth… it turns out that clipping a pedometer to my belt was the most motivational exercise aid I’ve ever used.

It might sound like a fad or just the latest in government-quotas, but the idea that we should take 10,000 steps a day to stay healthy is not a new one. About 40 years ago the premise was developed in Japan, where studies found that by walking 10,000 steps a day, a person could keep fit and reduce their risk of heart problems without taking additional exercise. Now 10,000 steps is the international standard, promoted by the NHS, British Heart Foundation and many health professionals all over the world. GPs are even prescribing pedometers to patients who are overweight or have a history of heart disease, so motivational have they proven to be.

10,000 steps amounts to about 5 miles (8km) and when it includes half an hour of brisk walking, burns off about 500 calories. So over a week, taking 10,000 steps a day could burn 1lb of fat. Just think: 5lbs in a month without even dieting!

The average person takes a rather paltry 3,500 to 5,000 steps a day, but it is surprising that even a lazy day spent mostly in front of the TV can result in 2,000 steps around the house.

So if a pedometer can motivate us to walk the extra while we’re wearing it, does it have any long-term benefits once the novelty’s worn off? Research by the Countryside Agency, which launched a Walking for Health initiative four years ago, suggests it does. It found that half of a sample of people who began using pedometers two years ago are still using them. And 93% say they are still walking more as a result.

I can say myself that wearing the counter for a week has certainly had a lasting effect, encouraging me to leave the car at home and put one foot in front of the other instead. It has given me a good idea of how many steps I can amass with a return trip into town (about 4,000) and just how far off my target I’ll be if I sit hunched over my desk all day with the odd trip to the kettle. The only draw-back to walking is the time it takes. But on the days I am otherwise sedentary, I now make a point of taking the time to tread my way towards that 10,000 total. After all, that extra hour or so I spend exercising each day might just result in an extra few years on this planet!