Stop Walking 10,000 Steps/Day (Try This Instead...) cover art

Stop Walking 10,000 Steps/Day (Try This Instead...)

Stop Walking 10,000 Steps/Day (Try This Instead...)

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10,000 steps a day. Where did that number even come from? It turns out it wasn't from any big trial. It started in Japan in the 1960s as a marketing name for one of the first pedometers, built around the Tokyo Olympics. It just stuck. When researchers actually studied step counts properly, the picture looked kinder than the slogan. In one large study of around 16,000 older women, the risk of dying kept falling as steps increased, but the benefit levelled off at around 7 and a half thousand steps. A later analysis across several countries found something similar, with the plateau sitting a bit lower for adults over 60 and a bit higher for younger adults. So for a lot of you watching, especially if you are over 50, 7,500 steps captures nearly all the benefit, and it is a target you can actually hit rather than one that leaves you feeling guilty. Steps are only part of the picture though. In the video I talk through three things that matter just as much: steady aerobic movement, short bursts of real effort, and resistance training a couple of times a week. Even small amounts add up. One study found that just a few minutes a day of vigorous movement, things like hurrying for a bus or carrying shopping upstairs, was linked to a big drop in deaths from heart disease and cancer. Another found that as little as 30 to 60 minutes of resistance training a week was tied to a meaningfully lower risk of dying, developing heart disease, diabetes and cancer. The honest advice is to build this up slowly. Start with walking more through your day, then stretch that out, then add gentle bursts of effort, then add resistance training once walking feels normal. A routine you can actually keep going beats a perfect one you give up on after two weeks. The full list of research references for this video is in the description of the YouTube version. Disclaimer: This is not personal medical advice and does not override what your doctor says. #dralex #steps #preventativehealth
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