Published
Update
Video length: 2 min
TRUE OR FALSE. Taking 10,000 steps a day, an official health recommendation?
TRUE OR FALSE. Taking 10,000 steps a day, an official health recommendation? – (France 2)
The figure of 10,000 steps to take per day to be in good health is regularly put forward, notably by sports brands and insurers. But is this an official recommendation?
Taking at least 10,000 steps a day to be healthy is advice we hear regularly. This figure is put forward by certain sports brands, or even insurers who give the World Health Organization (WHO) as a source. However, this is not an official recommendation.
The WHO never expresses itself in number of steps
However, the figure does not correspond to any scientific basis. In reality, it was popularized in 1964, during the Olympic Games in Tokyo (Japan), through an advertisement for a Japanese pedometer. The figure of 10,000 steps was chosen to make an impression. Today, it does not appear in official recommendations. The WHO never expresses itself in number of steps. She simply recommends that adults spend at least 150 to 300 minutes per week doing moderate-intensity endurance activity.
