How Accurate Is The 10,000 Step Target?

Fitness trackers set a default goal of 10,000 steps a day to stay fit and healthy. x

17:10 18 June 2015

Fitbit and other fitness trackers set a default goal of 10,000 steps a day. The company, which is going public, makes wearable devices designed to track fitness levels including calories burned and distance travelled. 

 

The device vibrates making the wrist buzzing when the target has been met. 

 

Nath Buck, 26, a media support officer who has been using Fitbit for just over a year, said that the vibration is “oddly rewarding.” 

 

According to the NHS, the average Briton walks between 3,000 to 4,000 steps per day. However, more are doing more and 10,000 steps might not be an ideal target for them. 

 

"If you run three times a week, you're not going to get fitter by walking 10,000 steps," Williams explains. "You're already quite fit. You're going to need to do more to get fitter than someone who is chronically unfit and inactive. For them, walking 5,000 or 10,000 steps a day will improve their fitness."

 

She added: "If you do too little, like park two car parking spaces further away from the supermarket entrance, you're not going to reach the target," she says. "You also need to make sure you keep challenging yourself. Pace and intensity is key to getting fitter."