WIR IM SPORT 05.2024
Magazine of the Landessportbund NRW
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The importance of sport and physical activity for human health has been known for a long time and is underpinned by a large number of scientific studies. The preventive effect of sport encompasses a wide range of positive effects that can contribute to the prevention and alleviation of numerous chronic diseases.
The story behind the 10,000 steps
How much physical activity is required to achieve these goals has been the focus of numerous studies. The recommendation to walk 10,000 steps a day was initially based on a marketing campaign from the 1960s, when a Japanese manufacturer of pedometers set this figure as an easily understandable and achievable goal. Although the figure was not originally based on scientific studies, subsequent research has shown that achieving 10,000 steps per day is associated with a variety of health benefits and has thus become a measure for general recommendations. However, for people with health conditions or a very low level of physical fitness, 10,000 steps (equivalent to seven to eight kilometers) may be an unattainable goal.
Reduced risk of death
However, recent studies suggest that even a lower number of steps can offer significant health benefits. In a meta-analysis, which evaluated 17 individual studies with a total of 220,000 test subjects, it was shown that the general risk of death decreases significantly from 4,000 steps per day. This effect is even clearer when it comes to the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease: a significant risk reduction was found for as few as 2,300 steps per day. The study also shows that an increase of 1,000 steps per day reduces the general risk of death by around 15 percent. In the case of cardiovascular disease, it was found that an increase of 500 steps per day can reduce the risk by around seven percent. To summarize: The well-known 10,000 steps per day remains a sensible target, but the data from this meta-analysis also shows that even significantly lower numbers of steps can achieve a reduction in the risk of death.
