We live our lives eyes down, glued to our phones. Not only to track our social media following, but to track how much we’re walking, standing, sleeping and so on. You’d be lying if you said you didn’t check your iPhone’s Health app every now and then (some of us, daily) to see if you’re racking up those miles to the advised 10,000 steps daily.
We’re going to stop you right there, though, because apparently this whole ‘you need to walk an average of 10,000 steps daily' is bullshit. Dr Greg Hager, from John Hopkins University has been especially critical of the daily ‘target’ apps and fitbits are encouraging us to complete. During a recent American Association for the Advancement of Science in Boston, he made the following statement: 'Some of you might wear Fitbits or something equivalent, and I bet every now and then it gives you that cool little message "you did 10,000 steps today. But why is 10,000 steps important?" What’s big about 10,000?’
Yes, what is so important about that 10,000 steps?? Tell us Greg Hager. Apparently in 1960 Japan, they discovered the average Japanese man walked around 10,000 steps a day, and burned around 3,000 calories – and that my friends is why we are now advised to walk 10,000 steps a day. Shall I say 10,000 steps one more time? This number isn’t based on height or weight averages, it’s literally pulled from history and now given to us as an advised health statistic by apps we trust, and more importantly use daily.
Dr Hager went on to add that he thinks these apps could be potentially damaging, doing more harm than good. The lack of scientific evidence means we have no idea if these numbers are right for us. My health app states that I walk on average 10, 689 steps a day – so if we’re going by the advised step average I’m doing good. But as someone who exercises regularly, and walks a lot that average suits my lifestyle and doesn't reflect a national average. Does this mean it’s statistically right for say, an elderly person that’s unable to move around as much, though?
I personally like keeping track of my movements, I’m a sucker for an Apple watch and love the app that tells me I need to stand more. Call it a gimmick but sitting down at a desk all day means sometimes you need reminding to get your arse off your chair and go for a wander. While tracking my movements works for me, this ’10,000 steps-fits-all’ approach could potentially be damaging to people less likely to get their steps in - who push themselves just because an app is pinging them with notifications to move more. So maybe now we know this numbers aren’t ‘for reals’ we're going to stick to what we know – move more, sit less and if you need an app to tell you to walk, that’s fine – just don’t be too anal about tracking it.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.