Column “On the couch”
10,000 steps a day? How much do you have to move
Pedometers, fitness trackers and the like – in the United States, every fifth person regularly has such a small booster with them. For Germany, there are still no figures on the use, but they are also known here – and thus also the magic limit of 10,000 steps a day for their own health. However, this is again not the result of scientific research, but goes back to a Japanese marketing strategy from the 1960s. But does that mean this goal is wrong? No it is not.
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Pedometer was invented in 1780
While studies have shown that the health benefits are starting to emerge from around 7,000 (and more) steps, prevention of 10,000 can contribute significantly to motivation and improvement. Above all, it is about knowing one’s own starting position and setting one’s own goals. For example, how many steps should there be (more) in the next week? And the little helpers who make movement visible are unsurpassed for this.
They are not a reinvention: The first pedometer was invented by the Swiss watchmaker Abraham-Louis Perrelet back in 1780. The unit could be wound up and then record up to 10,000 steps. It may have been the impetus for the Japanese company Yamasa in 1964 to call their portable pedometer Manpo Kei, which they had launched on the market at the time. Manpo kei is often translated as “counting 10,000 steps”.
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The more the better
Today, there is an incredible selection of pedometers, fitness trackers and sports watches. Smartphones can also record steps. But this tide contributes more to confusion than movement. For which device is the best? In general, most consumer testers rated it as good or very good. Some can also be used in the water or have all sorts of gimmicks, such as an inactivity alarm.
But scientific studies have also analyzed the accuracy of motion sensors in smartphones. If the devices are worn a lot, the information about the daily movement time is quite reliable. And that brings us to the topic of use and benefit. It can be summed up very simply: the more, the better. But even an increase of 1000 steps a day helps against diabetes and lowers blood pressure, mortality from all causes and more. At normal walking speed, it takes about ten minutes to walk 1000 steps.
Positive effects through everyday activities
This knowledge is actually more than a hundred years old. As early as 1917, a scientific publication entitled “Walking for Health” states that the majority of sedentary workers benefit from the effect of walking properly. “Diseases such as constipation and all other conditions that more or less result from a lack of muscle tone and activity can best be combated through this old, reliable and almost forgotten practice.”
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Today, we mainly talk about avoiding obesity and related diseases such as cardiovascular problems. Positive effects of everyday activities such as walking in connection with other diseases have also been demonstrated. So you do not always have to sweat when it comes to exercise. Counting (charging) while walking is enough.
Prof. Christine Joisten is a sports doctor at the Department of Movement and Neuroscience at the German Sports University in Cologne.
In the column “On the couch” write changing experts on the topics of partnership, mindfulness, career and health.
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