Is 10,000 steps a day the magic number for great health? It seems too good to be true. So, is it?
We know that exercise is good for you, of course, but there is no absolute number that ensures good health. So where did the 10,000 steps benchmark come from?
Believe it or not, the figure originated in Japan back in 1965. It was chosen arbitrarily when an early step counter was marketed as the Manpo-kei — which loosely translates to “10,000 step meter.” That’s how it all started.
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By the way, 10,000 is a good number to shoot for. The average person takes between 5,000 and 7,500 steps per day. An extra 2,500 would actually mean you are walking another 20 to 30 minutes in a day.
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KYW Newsradio’s Medical Reports are sponsored by Independence Blue Cross.
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