Walking is an accessible form of movement with impressive health-boosting credentials; there is enough research available to safely make that statement. Treating 10,000 steps per day as the gold standard for a healthy lifestyle is far more contentious.
The number stems from a 1960s Japanese marketing campaign for a pedometer called the Manpo-Kei, or “10,000 steps metre”. It’s a nice round number, but it’s not one identified by science as the holy grail for health – a 2023 study by the University of Granada suggests that, while more is better, 8,000 is sufficient “to significantly reduce the risk of premature death”.
