If you’ve ever tracked your steps with a wearable fitness tracker, smartwatch, or the built-in pedometer on your phone, you’ve probably been striving to hit 10,000 steps a day. After all, it’s often considered the gold standard for daily movement goals. It’s a solid, round number that somehow seems achievable and momentous, helping you improve overall health, burn calories, and possibly even increase longevity.
However, research has shown that you may not need to move as much to reap the wellness benefits of increased activity, which begs the question: If 10,000 steps isn’t the right goal, what is? So, do you need to take so many steps daily? This is what science has to say.
The importance of movement
Total calorie burn is a combination of several things: the energy needed to keep the body running (known as the basal metabolic rate) and to digest food, as well as intentional exercise and all other daily movements. When people think about incorporating movement into their lives, most tend to focus on the intentional exercise part of the pie. But that ignores the also important small bursts of movement, a category called NEAT or non-exercise activity thermogenesis.
Skimping on NEAT is doing your health no favors, as these actions play a vital role in your metabolism and overall well-being. The more time you spend in your day doing literally anything other than sitting, whether it’s walking to the bathroom at work, weeding the garden, folding laundry, or standing in line at the grocery store, the more you’ll increase your metabolic rate, which ultimately means more calories burned. Additionally, research shows an association between prolonged sedentary time and an increased risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and cancer, even if you exercise. Clearly, how much you move throughout the day really matters.
“The little things definitely add up, especially for more sedentary people,” says Sarah Eby, a sports medicine physician at Mass General Brigham and assistant professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Harvard Medical School.
And this is where the 10,000 steps goal comes into play. The exact figure is a bit of a farce. (It is believed to come from a device called Manpo-kei, which literally translates to “10,000 step meter,” that a Japanese company created in the 1960s as a marketing gimmick.) But daily step counting is still one of the easiest ways to determine how much NEAT you’re getting. That said, there are many other ways to move your body throughout the day that also contribute to NEAT. The important thing is not what you are doing to move more; It’s that you’re not just sitting at a desk for eight hours straight, then in a car, and then on your couch.
“If you’re very sedentary throughout the day, your metabolism says, ‘Okay, let’s not move, I can slow down,'” explains Marissa McCay, a sports medicine physician at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. “By increasing small movements throughout the day, you are teaching your body that you are becoming more active and therefore your body needs to increase its metabolism to keep up with you.”
Small actions, big calorie burns
A healthy approach to losing weight includes a balanced diet with plenty of whole foods, protein, and fiber; an exercise regimen that includes cardiovascular and strength training and other lifestyle factors, such as reducing stress and getting enough sleep. While you may be doing great in your morning HIIT classes, it’s all the movement you do outside of the gym that can really move the needle if you’re trying to stay fit. In fact, a comprehensive review found that energy expenditure from daily movement can vary by up to 2,000 calories per day among people of similar sizes, depending on biological factors like age and genetics, but also how much they move outside of exercise. The study highlights that even small things like fidgeting and pacing while talking on the phone add up to a substantial impact on metabolic rate.
More movement made easy
According to experts interviewed for this article, walking more is an ideal way to increase NEAT. But remember, doing so doesn’t require lacing up your sneakers and going for a walk. Small changes count too: taking a walk to get a coffee instead of driving, choosing the stairs instead of the elevator or escalator, walking to public transportation instead of using the car – you get the idea! If you’re looking to level things up, you can invest in a walking platform and standing desk or even a treadmill desk. Keeping a pedal pedal under your desk is another way to increase movement if you have a job that requires spending hours in front of a computer.
