10,000 steps a day: Too low? Too high?

You've just gotten a new activity tracker and you're ready to aim for 10,000 steps a day. But is that an appropriate goal for you? It all depends on your present fitness level and what you want to accomplish.
The average American walks 3,000 to 4,000 steps a day, or roughly 1.5 to 2 miles. It's a good idea to find out how many steps a day you walk now, as your own baseline. Then you can work up toward the goal of 10,000 steps by aiming to add 1,000 extra steps a day every two weeks.
If you're already walking more than 10,000 steps a day, or if you're fairly active and trying to lose weight, you'll probably want to set your daily step goal higher.
A paper recently published in JAMA Internal Medicine says getting only about half that many steps per day is linked to a decreased risk of early death for older women, and that benefits peter out for this group around 7,500 steps per day. It joins a growing body of research that says even small chunks of physical activity can come with sizable benefits.
“Just do a little bit. If you just do a little bit, you’re better off,” says study co-author I-Min Lee, a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and epidemiologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. “Don’t be discouraged if you don’t meet 10,000 steps.”
Walking is a form of exercise that's available to most people. You don't need any special equipment other than some supportive walking shoes. And there's no need for an expensive membership at a fitness center.
Yet walking for regular activity can help reduce your risk of a host of health problems, including heart disease, obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, and depression.
Some activity is better than none
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity exercise, such as brisk walking. But you don't have to jump feet-first into the 150-minute goal. Start where you are and gradually increase your activity week by week.
Those 150 minutes a week can be divided in many different ways. Some people aim for 30 minutes of exercise five days a week. Others fit in 10 minutes of exercise several times a day.
If your walking pace isn't speedy enough to qualify as moderate-intensity exercise, those steps still help prevent the problems that can occur from sitting too much during the day. Adding any regular activity to your routine is beneficial.
How far will you go today? Your goal will depend on your starting point. But nearly everyone can reap the benefits of walking more, step by step.
Sources: Mayo Clinic (mayoclinic.org), Harvard Medical School (health.harvard.edu)