ACTI0N F1GURE5

#1 Clock 10,000 Steps a Day

According to Harvard Medical School professor Dr I-Min Lee, the origins of this prevalent figure can be traced back to a Japanese company, whose pedometer is named Manpo-kei, or “10,000-steps-meter”

Can you count on it?

It’s the default setting on many popular activity trackers, but research suggests that this is an imperfect prescription. Dr Lee’s studies suggest that while mortality rates progressively improve as we get in more steps, they level off at 7500 per day. A separate study by the University of Texas at Austin, which examined metabolic responses to exercise, concluded that 5000 steps are too few, but about 8000 are likely sufficient.

It’s difficult to separate out the benefits of walking compared to exercise in general. A better goal might be to shorten the unbroken periods of time you spend sitting down. “Public health recommendations have typically focused on exercise, rather than how little time we should be spending