10,000 steps a day – just a marketing campaign?
Walking 10,000 steps a day: Many people now follow this rule of thumb almost religiously. It goes back to an advertising campaign from 1964. So does the number of steps really have a medical background or is it just a marketing gimmick? The backgrounds.
10,000 steps a day: this has become a credo for many people. Every day, they tie fitness trackers to their wrists or track the number of steps they take on their smartphones.
But hardly anyone knows that this supposed health trend does not have its origins in medicine. Instead, it all started with a marketing campaign.
Contents
10,000 steps a day: It all started with a fitness tracker
Everything began in 1964, when a Japanese company called Yamaha Tokei made the first commercial pedometer. The tracker’s name should be “Manpo-kei”. Translated, this means “counter of 10,000 steps”. However, this name had no scientific background.
In fact, the company reportedly chose the name just because it sounded good. A good decision because the product sold well and the 10,000-step mark became the norm.
10,000 steps a day: that’s what science says
In the meantime, thanks to the wave of running fans and tracker users, science has also entered the discourse. Various experiments and studies deal with the optimal number of steps to be completed every day.
There is no good news for those who are lazy: the Japanese company was not so wrong. 10,000 steps a day is also scientifically optimal.
Studies provide different results
Like one analysis from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst found that adults up to the age of 60 should walk between 8,000 and 10,000 steps a day. However, people over the age of 60 can stop walking after 8,000 steps. Running on does not seem to bring any additional years of life.
Other studies at the same time, however, prove that even a lower number of steps per day can already significantly improve the health of each individual. The conclusion? Of course, 10,000 steps a day do not guarantee eternal youth. However, what this story does teach us is the power of advertising.
Also interesting:
