Walk away from an early grave - The effect of step count on health

YOU ARE SEDENTARY 

If you're reading this, you're likely sedentary. "What? Not me". Yes, you are likely sedentary. The thing is most people are living an inactive lifestyle and they're not aware of it. Just going to the gym or participating in sport 2-3 times a week does not mean you are not a sedentary individual. Matter of fact, even athletes can be classified as sedentary and those who are seem to have more disadvantages than other athletes who are not taking part in sedentary behaviour. So, how does one transition into a more active lifestyle? 

ARE YOU MOVING ENOUGH?

Adults in the US average approximately 5100-6500 steps per day. A recent meta-analysis suggests that just getting 6000 steps per day is associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality by approximately 126% as opposed to getting 16000 steps per day. Now granted, 16000 steps is a demanding task for a lot of people, especially ones who are already severely inactive. It is also something to consider in future research on how much impact on risk of all-cause mortality lower step counts, such as 6000, have relative to the same amount combined with resistance training. 

WALKING AWAY FROM AN EARLY GRAVE

There are numerous publications recommending different step counts that should be completed in an attempt to transition to a more active lifestyle. A general recommendation of 10000 steps per day has long been suggested but there is actually no solid evidence supporting that exact number as the threshold of step count in avoiding sedentarism. Therefore, we can come up with a number of different suggestions to form a routine by which you can increase your activity level depending on your current status. 

1.  Severely Inactive

This label refers to individuals who are likely getting little to no activity at all throughout the day. Usually this label is represented by step counts of <2000 steps per day. For these individuals the formation of habits that allow for increased activity will likely be more important than just numerical suggestions. Habits may include using activity for transportation as a way of increasing your daily step count. You can read my article on habit formation to gather a greater understanding on this topic. 

2.  Moderately Inactive 

A step count of anywhere from 2000-4000 steps is likely to represent the moderately inactive individuals. These individuals can, and likely should, increase their step count, aiming towards 6000 steps per day. Moderately Inactive individuals, unlike the severely inactive ones, are already achieving some sort of walking activity throughout the day. Increasing the step count towards 6000 steps per day can be as simple as implementing 1-2 15-minute walks per day. These walks can be implemented whenever but a popular strategy I implement with clients is taking these walks right before or after eating. There's no real benefit here, it just seems to be an efficient strategy. After achieving 2 successful weeks of 6000 steps per day you can then implement the strategy mentioned in the next category. 

3.  Slightly Inactive 

These individuals are already getting a decent amount of steps and so minor changes will likely be enough to increase step count to a satisfactory level of approximately 8000-10000 steps per day. Slightly inactive individuals are usually getting around 6000 steps each day. In order to increase step count to 8000-10000 steps per day these individuals can, like the moderately inactive individuals, apply small changes that can significantly increase their step count. Things such as small 15-minute walks, 10-minute treadmill walks pre- and post- workout, and more general daily activity at work and/or school can get you to a satisfactory daily step count. These strategies are similar to the ones that are applied to moderately inactive individuals although there are some distinctions. 1) Moderately inactive individuals are not accustomed to any significant activity whereas slightly inactive individuals likely are and so therefore they can transition into an "active lifestyle" straight away as opposed to moderately inactive individuals who will likely need a longer transition period and 2) There is a greater chance that activity-increasing habits are already established in slightly inactive individuals whereas in moderately inactive individuals they may still yet to be established. 

Once an individual manages to hit 8-10k steps per day, combined with exercise of some sorts, they're on the right path. Higher than that amount, the decrease of all-risk mortality continues to decline but at a lower rate. Going beyond 10k steps should likely be aimed when it is easy to do so or when aiming to lose weight and therefore one may increase activity through step count.