The step counters that were popular back in the early 2000s have been replaced by smartwatches that do everything from tracking how many steps you take to measuring heart rate and sleep patterns. What do both of these things have in common? The number of steps that you do each day, of course.
Why does that number count? Some people correlate their steps with activity, proving to themselves that they move around enough to be healthy. Others track their steps to know how many calories they've burned that day.
Since burning calories and losing weight correlate, this makes sense. The real question is: how many steps do you need each day in order to lose weight?
How Do Step Counters Work?
Step counters, also known as pedometers, work in several different ways. There are the old-fashioned spring-loaded pedometers that must be placed on your belt loop or the waistband of your pants. These step counters have a tiny arm inside that moves when you do. As you begin to walk, the arm completes a movement, registering each step as you take it.
The other type of pedometer, known as a piezoelectric, is the kind that is built into smartwatches and the fitness trackers that you wear on your wrist. This type of step counter uses a tiny crystal, known as a piezoelectric crystal, and a horizontal beam that works by the inclusion of a small weight located on one end.
When your arms move, as they do when you walk, the weight moves, thus moving the beam as well. The beam touches the crystal, creating a small electrical charge that counts that as one step.
How Accurate Are Step Counters?
Studies have shown that the accuracy of step counters varies. The faster you walk, as it turns out, the more accurate the pedometers are. In general, when you move at a pace faster than three miles per hour, a pedometer is around 96% accurate.
The slower you move, the more that accuracy shrinks. At two miles per hour, it can be as low as 74% accurate, and that goes down even more when you're moving at speeds of less than one mile per hour.
Of course, you also need to take into account your wrist movements. If you're using a smartwatch or a tracker like a FitBit to count your steps, moving your wrists in a horizontal manner as opposed to actually walking can make the device count steps. As a result, the number of steps registering can be much higher than it should be.
In order to accurately use a step counter, you need to ensure that you're moving at a fast enough pace, not moving your wrists indiscriminately, and set the device to your actual gait measurements (all devices have this personalized setting).
Also, since your hip movements are what the devices should be counting, make sure that you're taking natural steps, and if you're using an old-fashioned pedometer, ensure that you have it set up properly to register your steps.
How Many Steps Should You Take a Day?
Did you know that the average person takes between 3,000 and 4,000 steps per day? While this number shows that people are building healthy habits, it may not be enough to spur you into losing weight. Those numbers are the same as walking around two miles each day, which sounds impressive, but really isn’t.
Most medical professionals consider anything fewer steps than 5,000 a day to be in the "sedentary" category, making you more at risk of health conditions like obesity and heart disease. If you want to be healthy and see some benefits from moving around, you need to walk more every day.
In general, the number of steps you should aim for is 10,000 per day, which is typically 30 to 60 minutes of walking or running. This daily step count is the equivalent of walking several miles (around four and a half to five miles), and it will burn up to 400 calories. While this isn't a guaranteed way to lose weight, it's a start. You'll also have to watch what you eat with a healthy diet of whole grains, protein, and vegetables if you want to reach your fitness goal.
Step intensity and intervals count as well. If you simply get up and take short walks every 20 minutes or so, then you may not be doing enough to lose weight by walking. Instead, you need to spend some time each day speed walking at a brisk pace around your neighborhood, the park, or even the parking lot of where you work to ensure that you're getting all of the cardiac benefits of walking.
Do Steps Correlate With Weight Loss?
In a way, yes, steps and weight loss can go hand in hand. Since walking burns calories, if you do enough of it, then you might lose weight. You'll also need to watch what you eat and make sure that you take your steps at the right speed for this to work.
If you do both of them, you could lose weight simply by walking every day. It would also help if you could do more steps daily. If 5,000 is considered sedentary and 10,000 is enough to count as positive movement, then walking even more will help and not hurt your weight loss cause.
Taking extra steps will always burn extra calories, so even if walking isn't the main event during your workouts, increasing your daily activity can help you reach your weight-loss goals.
The CDC’s recommendation is a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate exercise every week, and your daily walking can help you get there—and beyond. Walking at an incline or on stairs can also make this a more intense exercise as your fitness level increases.
Just make sure that your pedometer or smartphone is counting your steps accurately instead of tracking your arm movements alone as steps.
Of course, your daily steps can also be a great way to start building a fitness routine. Setting realistic goals and increasing them over time will set you up for success, so starting out easy with light physical activity like walking and yoga can create a strong foundation for a healthy relationship with exercise.
How To Ensure That You're Taking Enough Steps Per Day
How can you make sure that you're moving around enough each day to get in all of your steps and possibly lose weight? There are several tricks that you can use.
Use Your Smart Watch Settings
Your smartwatch or fitness tracker more than likely has a setting on it that reminds you to move. Just adjust it to go off every half hour or so (the timing is up to you), and your wrist will buzz slightly, or you'll hear an alarm go off, reminding you to get up and walk around a bit.
This will help you get those steps in and cause you to get up from your desk so that you're no longer sedentary.
Take Time To Walk at a Fast Pace
If you take the time each day to get a decent walk in at a pace faster than three miles per hour, you're likely to not only meet or exceed your step goal but also burn some additional calories. The more you move, the more likely you will get all those steps in, so take your dog for a walk, spend some time outdoors, and walk all you want.
10,000 Steps It Is!
In general, it takes around 10,000 steps per day to begin to improve your health. This will burn several hundred calories, and when combined with a healthy diet and reduced calorie consumption, you might start to lose weight as well. Although it depends on the person and their metabolism, every step that you take is a step in a positive direction.
Sources:
How Many Steps Should People Take Per Day? | Medicine News Today