You need 10,000 steps a day
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Sort of. More steps do go with a longer life, but 10,000 was never a scientific number. It comes from the name of a pedometer sold in Japan in 1965. In a pooled study of 47,471 adults, the lower death risk leveled off at 6,000 to 8,000 steps a day for people 60 and over, and at 8,000 to 10,000 for younger adults.
What we’d do
Aim for about 7,000 to 8,000 steps a day if you’re over 60, and 8,000 to 10,000 if you’re younger. If you’re at 3,000 now, the first few thousand extra do the most, so start there. Steps don’t cover strength, so add two strength sessions a week on top.
If you remember three things
- 10,000 was a pedometer’s name. Manpo-kei, sold in Japan in 1965, means “10,000 steps meter”.
- The first few thousand count most. In older women, about 4,400 steps a day went with a 41% lower death rate than about 2,700.
- About 7,000 is a solid goal. In a 2025 review, 7,000 steps a day went with a 47% lower death rate than 2,000.
Why everyone believes it
It’s a clean, round number, and hitting it feels like an achievement. It also sounds like it came from a lab. Most people have never asked where it came from.
Where did 10,000 come from?
In 2019 I-Min Lee and her colleagues went looking. They wrote that the origin isn’t clear, but it likely comes from “the trade name of a pedometer sold in 1965” by the Yamasa Clock and Instrument Company in Japan. It was called Manpo-kei, which translates to “10,000 steps meter”. The researchers noted that the number has limited scientific basis.
A picture from daily life
Think of switching on lamps in a dark room. The first lamp makes the biggest difference, and the second helps a lot. By the fifth you barely notice, though it doesn’t hurt. Steps work the same way. Going from very few to a moderate amount is where most of the drop in risk happens.
What did the step studies find?
The 2022 pooled study put 47,471 adults from 15 studies into four groups by their daily steps, and followed them for about 7 years.
Death rate by daily steps, against the lowest group
- About 3,600 stepsthe comparison
- About 5,800 steps40% lower
- About 7,800 steps45% lower
- About 10,900 steps53% lower
Older women
16,741 US women, average age 72, followed 4.3 years. Lee, JAMA Internal Medicine, 2019
About 4,400 steps a day went with a 41% lower death rate than about 2,700. The rate kept falling with more steps and leveled off at about 7,500.
It was women only, with an average age of 72, followed for just over 4 years.
15 studies pooled
47,471 adults, followed a median 7.1 years. Paluch, Lancet Public Health, 2022
The risk kept falling until 6,000 to 8,000 steps a day in people 60 and over, and until 8,000 to 10,000 in younger adults.
These studies followed people, so some low step counts may have come from illness.
57 studies reviewed
35 cohorts. Ding, Lancet Public Health, 2025
7,000 steps a day went with a 47% lower death rate than 2,000, and lower risks of heart disease, dementia and falls, with most of the gain by 5,000 to 7,000.
It pooled different devices and populations.
Does walking faster count more?
It might, a little. In the older women, how fast they stepped made no clear difference once total steps were counted. In the pooled study, people with a faster best half hour of walking did better, even after counting total steps. Either way, the total does most of the work. In the Harvard habits study, even under an hour a week of moderate or vigorous activity went with a 35% lower death rate than none.
Should you ignore 10,000?
The sceptic says
More is better, so 10,000 is a fine goal. And if you’re under 60, the benefit kept going to 8,000 to 10,000 anyway.
The reply
For many people it is fine. More steps didn’t look harmful in these studies. The problem is the person at 3,000 who sees 10,000 as out of reach and gives up, when going to 5,000 or 7,000 would get them most of the benefit. And since a sick person walks less, the exact point where the curve flattens is rough.
4 sources
- Lee IM and others, Association of Step Volume and Intensity With All-Cause Mortality in Older Women, JAMA Internal Medicine, 2019jamanetwork.com
- Paluch AE and others, Daily steps and all-cause mortality: a meta-analysis of 15 international cohorts, Lancet Public Health, 2022pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Ding D and others, Daily steps and health outcomes in adults: a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis, Lancet Public Health, 2025pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Li Y and others, Impact of Healthy Lifestyle Factors on Life Expectancies in the US Population, Circulation, 2018pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
