10,000 steps a day (roughly 5 miles) has been the gold standard for maintaining a healthy lifestyle. This number originated in the mid-1960s when a Japanese company introduced the “Manpo-Kei,” to the world. The “Manpo-Kei,” which literally translates to 10,000 steps, was a step-meter that was marketed to the world, right around the 1964 Olympics which were held in Tokyo.

While this was originally a catchy, clean number to promote a product… over the decades, numerous studies have shown that 10,000 is indeed a magic number.

In September 2022, a notable study published in JAMA Internal Medicine, with a cohort of 78,500 individuals, with a mean average of 61 years old, reported that “(up to about 10,000 steps) may be associated with a lower risk of all-cause, cancer, and CVD mortality and incidence of cancer and CVD; higher step intensity may provide additional benefits” (Del Pozo Cruz et al, 2022).

Some highlights of the study found that 9,800 steps was the optimal dose to lower the risk of dementia by 50%, but risks were reduced by 25% with steps as low as 3,800 steps a day. Overall, the study ultimately found that every 2,000 steps lowered the risk of premature death incrementally by 8-11% up to 10,000 steps per day.

Fast forward to this past month, August 2023, a new study published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, found...

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