Healthy how many steps per day

There's some evidence that people who walk 10, steps a day are more likely to lose weight than those who walk just 3, steps daily. It seems to make intuitive sense that adding a few extra miles to your routine would help, thanks to the extra calories you're burning. Herman Pontzer , an evolutionary biologist, collected data showing that traditional hunter-gatherers, who walk miles each day, burn nearly the same number of calories as sedentary Americans.

His theory to explain this is that, over time, the body compensates for extra energy you burn through exercise by budgeting more carefully or increasing your hunger signals so you eat more to make up for it. While this theory is somewhat controversial and requires more research, it suggests the relationship between walking and weight loss isn't as straightforward as people may think.

So walking 10, steps a day isn't a hard and fast rule for shedding pounds any more than it's a prescription for better health. If you are looking to lose weight , there's no harm in walking, but changing your diet is key — and evidence suggests combining those measures leads to the best results.

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This article explains whether it's best to have a protein shake before or after your…. Accessed April 26, Starting a walking program. American College of Sports Medicine. Smith-McLallen A, et al. Comparative effectiveness of two walking interventions on participation, step counts and health. American Journal of Health Promotion.

Glasper A. Walk this way: Improving activity levels. British Journal of Nursing. Tips for being active with diabetes. Accessed April 27, Department of Health and Human Services. Accessed June 9, Reducing sedentary behaviors: Sit less and move more. Move more and sit less the NEAT way. Rochester, Minn. Thompson WG expert opinion. Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. June 5, See also 5K training schedule Exercise warm-up Aerobic exercise Air pollution and exercise Ankle weights for fitness walkers Barefoot running shoes Buying athletic shoes?

Check your arch Buying new workout shoes? Get the right fit Choose the right walking shoes Cycle your way to better health Do you need to warm up before you exercise? For healthy adults, the goal of reaching 10, steps each day should be encouraged along with the Australian Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour Guidelines. To reach 10, steps, active choices should be made throughout the day as many adults struggle to reach 10, steps without also doing some form of planned moderate activity.

Thirty minutes of moderate physical activity such as walking, is approximately 3, - 4, steps. By combining both the goal of 10, steps each day and 30 minutes of moderate activity as recommended in the Australian Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour Guidelines, people are more likely to reach a physical activity level associated with health benefits.

Remember one of the main points from the Guidelines though, doing something is better than none and doing more is better again, fits quite nicely with our slogan Every step counts.

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