How To Maximize Those 10,000 Steps

Want to get the most out of those 10,000 steps that you attempt to walk each day? Walk faster. At least, walk faster for some of them. Science Daily reports on research conducted at the University of Oregon that analyzed data from 3,388 people, looking at minute-by-minute step data, relationships between step-defined physical activity and various cardiometabolic risk factors for the survey participants — such as waist circumference, blood pressure, fasting glucose, insulin, and cholesterol levels, as well as body mass index. The researchers found that, among male participants, only the highest quintile — the top one-fifth — had a median of more than 10,000 steps per day, checking in at 12,334. Among women, the top quintile’s median was 9,824.  In addition to tallying total step counts, the researchers looked at daily “peak 30-minute cadence” — the average number of steps in a participant’s most vigorous 30 minutes, which weren’t necessarily consecutive minutes. Here, they found that only the top quintile had a median peak cadence — 96 steps per minute — that was in line with accepted physical activity guidelines of 30 minutes a day at 100 steps per minute. They also found a strong relationship between higher cadences — walking more briskly as opposed to less briskly — and favorable numbers in the cardiometabolic risk categories.