Today, the Pyopp Fledge team discovered a surprising fact about Indonesia: On average, Indonesian netizens only walked around 3.513 steps every day, very far from the recommended 7.000-10.000 daily steps a day by doctors and experts. But why does the number of steps we take matter? Does it affect our health, or is it just a mere talk around the street? Stick with us because through this post, we are going to tackle this topic.
Walking more = Live more?
We believe that this is actually true! A study in 2019 about the mortality in older women* found that the participants who walked approximately 4.400 steps per day had significantly lower mortality rates compared to the participants who walked approximately only 2.700 steps per day–40% way more than the other!
As the number of daily steps increased, mortality rates also dropped until leveling off at around 7.500 steps per day.
But not only you can live more, it is also discovered that the number of steps you have correlates with your happiness. Another study** found that women who walked 7,500 or more steps a day had a 50% lower rate of depression compared to those who took fewer than 5,000 steps. While for men who walked 12,500 or more steps a day also had a 50% lower rate of depression compared to those who took fewer than 5,000 steps.
The recommended steps per day
While there are many guidelines regarding this topic, this study** found that healthy adults can walk anywhere from 4,000 to 18,000 steps a day, with 10,000 steps being a reasonable goal.
But if you are busy and don’t have that much free time, how can you walk 10.000 steps a day? Here, we have a few tips:
- Start taking the stairs: Not only you can walk more, but it also burns calories.
- Walk during lunch hour: Take at least 5 minutes every day to get up from your office desk and walk around.
- Park further away: So you can walk more.
- Set time before/after work: An hour a day, before or after work, could be beneficial and make a difference.
Walking with minimalist shoes
Walking in minimalist shoes can enhance your walking experience by allowing your foot muscles to work naturally, without any added support or cushion. Minimalist shoes will let your feet to move, flex, and feel naturally, which strengthens the muscles over time***.
However, it's important to remember that you can't transition to minimalist shoes overnight—you need to build up your resilience gradually and steadily to prevent injury.
Whether you can only start at 5.000 steps per day or go straight to 10.000 and more remember to always listen to your body. It’s never wrong to start small because every step counts! Gradually increase your steps and your body will follow afterwards.
Here’s to a healthier life, Barefooters!
Source:
*Lee, I. M., Shiroma, E. J., Kamada, M., Bassett, D. R., Matthews, C. E., & Buring, J. E. (2019). Association of step volume and intensity with all-cause mortality in older women. JAMA internal medicine, 179(8), 1105-1112.
**Tudor-Locke, C., Craig, C. L., Brown, W. J., Clemes, S. A., De Cocker, K., Giles-Corti, B., ... & Blair, S. N. (2011). How many steps/day are enough? For adults. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 8, 1-17.
***Ridge, S. T., Olsen, M. T., Bruening, D. A., Jurgensmeier, K., Griffin, D., Davis, I. S., & Johnson, A. W. (2018). Walking in minimalist shoes is effective for strengthening foot muscles.