The health benefits of walking 8,000 steps per day
It is widely known that walking is beneficial to health.
But why is walking 8,000 steps per day considered effective for maintaining health?
In May 2023, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare announced
the “Health Japan 21 (the Third Term)” initiative,
a national health promotion campaign beginning in fiscal year 2024.
Within the domain of physical activity and exercise,
this initiative set goals such as:
・increasing the average number of daily steps
・increasing the proportion of adults with regular exercise habits
・reducing the number of children who do not engage in exercise or sports regularly
・increasing the number of municipalities working to create walkable, comfortable urban spaces.
For adults, the recommendation is to engage in
at least 60 minutes of physical activity per day.
This corresponds to approximately 8,000 or more steps daily.
Past research has also reported that maintaining health is
effectively supported by “7,000–8,000 steps per day” and
“15–20 minutes of moderate-intensity activity”【2】.
Moreover, even if one cannot achieve 8,000 steps every day,
it has been shown that reaching this target
just one or two days per week can also reduce health risks【3】.
For those who rely on private cars for commuting,
creating opportunities to walk may be difficult.
However, making a weekend challenge of aiming for “8,000 steps per day
including at least 20 minutes of moderate-intensity walking (such as brisk walking)”
is considered highly beneficial for maintaining health.
References
1）厚生労働省.健康日本21（第三次）
ttps://www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/seisakunitsuite/bunya/kenkou_iryou/kenkou/kenkounippon21_00006.html
3）Kosuke Inoue, Yusuke Tsugawa, Elizabeth Rose Mayeda, Beate Ritz（2023）A ssociation of Daily Step Patterns with Mortality in US adults. JAMA Network Open. DOI：10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.5174
