10,000 steps to stay healthy

So the verdict is in - walking 10,000 steps a day is good for you.

Shibuya Scramble, Hafeisi

But the origin of the idea, curiously, is not rooted in science. It was in fact a marketing ploy by a Japanese company and a quirk of Japanese wordplay. In anticipation of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, Yamasa Tokei Keiki, a clockmaker in conjunction with a doctor who was concerned with the decline of physical activity in Japan, devised a pedometer called 万歩計 manpokei, or 10,000 steps meter. When you hear the name you might think of 散歩 sanpo, or walking. And the play on words incorporated 万 man, which means both 10,000 and a lot.

The product spawned walking clubs with the aim of reaching the target of 10,000 steps which is perceived as 満足, manzoku meaning sufficient. But the reality was previously insufficient evidence to indicate that 10,000 steps make a difference in health outcomes.

Out of curiosity, I looked up how many steps a day people average in different countries and wasn’t surprised that Japanese people have a high step count. How many steps they take a day depends on age, environment, and sex. It looks like working-age men do a lot of walking over the course of a day.

But does it count when it comes to fitness? Well, it looks like science has finally caught up with the walkers and determined that it does, but there is some fine footwork required to make your movement count.

Researchers recently revealed that there is a correlation between 10,000 steps and reduced risk of dementia, cancer, and cardiovascular disease. So all that trudging you urban dwellers do from home to train station, up and down stairs, appears to be beneficial. What hasn’t been specified, as far as I’ve read, is the speed at which you walk.

Every day, I trudge to the station, up and down stairs in my workplace, constantly moving as my work requires that I stand and move a lot. I probably won't achieve the goal of 10,000 steps on a normal work day, but if I forgo the bus and walk the 35 minutes to the station, I probably top it and can manage that a few times a week. And those walks are great for meditating on the day’s events and planning for the next day. I'd say I'm in pretty good shape, but it's hard to say if it's all the steps I take or the other things I do. I cycle to do all my errands and walk and hike on weekends.

Do you think you reach 10,000 steps a day? How do you manage the feat?