10,000 steps a day: the necessary standards or marketing ploy

Many repeated advice, not thinking about how do they get there. "We need to drink eight glasses of water a day", "breakfast - the main meal", "2000 calories per day - is the norm" - such statements have become conventional wisdom. It seems that if you follow them, you're a healthy person.

In the last decade with a new requirement appeared spread pedometers and fitness bracelets: you must take at least 10,000 steps a day. That's an average of about eight kilometers. The origin of this figure, vaguely, that has not stopped manufacturers trackers use it as the base rate.

Recently, however, there was a studyAssociation of Step Volume and Intensity With All-Cause Mortality in Older Women.Which calls into question the benefit of 10,000 steps.

An epidemiologist at the Harvard Ai-Min Lee (I-Min Lee) became interested in where it came from such a rule. "It turned out, its roots lie in the marketing strategy, - she said. - In 1965, a Japanese company selling pedometers, called his product "10,000-steps-up '."

This name was chosen because the character for the number 10 000, slightly like on a walking man. As far as possible to learn Ai-Min Lee, the creators of the campaign did not test use this figure to health.

Since this discovery marketers spread around the world as a universal rule. And Lee decided to see how it significantly. Her study involved 16,000 older women. During the week, they measured the number of passed steps per day. Four years later, scientists have estimated the mortality rate in different groups.

"Those who took 4400 steps a day, the mortality rate was significantly lower than that of less active Women with a score of about 2700 steps ", - says Lee. And the more the participants were, the lower was the rate among them. But it lasted only to the level of 7500 steps. After her death rates did not change, regardless of the steps you've taken.

It turns out even extra 2000 steps a day (about 1.5 km), a positive effect on health.

This qualification means a lot to those who want to be active, but do not know where to to beginOr doubts in their abilities.

"I do not think that the bar 10 000 steps - it is a successful approach to physical activity, - says Lindsey Wilson (Lindsay Wilson), a geriatrician from the University of North Carolina. - Some walking is not suitable. Someone living in an unsafe neighborhood or insecure feeling on the sidewalk. You have to be more creative when you advise something to the man. Maybe it would be better to go to the fitness or pool or start practicing on bikes. "

This approach is particularly important for old peopleBut generally it works for any age. Even small increases in physical activity and is useful for the body and psyche. But inflated strap can do to fight off the urge to move.

Human health - is too complex a phenomenon to reduce it to a couple of numerical indicators.

Why did the myths about health so popular? "People want unique results, and tips - Chang says Virginia (Virginia Chang), a sociologist from New York University. - They want to know what they should do. But research is not so arranged. They have a language that poorly translated into "human" language. "

Of course, not all common knowledge about health - it's confusion. For example, the use of an eight-hour sleep It proved repeatedly. Simply those who want to improve your health, you need to keep in mind: to help even small changes in diet and the amount of activity. Even if it means you do not quite live up to the popular bar.

Technology evolves, fitness devices become more affordable and more accurate. In the future, they will help scientists understand how physical activity is associated with health. At present it is difficult to establish a causal link.

Perhaps the study participants Ai-Min Lee became healthier because more went. Or maybe they were more steps, because initially were healthier. In any case, we see that regular moderate physical activity is associated with health and longevity.

If you can walk 10,000 steps a day - excellent. But if you lead a sedentary lifestyle due to age or other reasons, you will be useful, even a small increase in activity.