We are hailed that you have to walk 10,000 steps a day to stay healthy. But according to Christian Daulouède, a former sports doctor in Bordeaux, this figure is not based on any serious scientific basis. More than quantity, the intensity of the march counts. Here’s what you really need to know.
For several years, health applications on smartphones and connected watches have popularized a supposedly universal rule: walk 10,000 steps would be the key to good health. A simple, reassuring objective, which gives the impression of acting for its well-being. And yet this rule is largely questioned by some health professionals. Doctor Christian Daulouède, a former sports doctor in Bordeaux, even says that this obsession for the number of steps is a lure. According to him, this figure is not medically founded and comes from a Marketing study of the 60s, intended to sell podometers in Japan.
“Over the years, and even more for the past five years, we have taken over this pseudo-tweeting of the 10,000 steps, to sell applications on our phones and podometers on connected watches: we call it, in health, a effet “‘gold” »he gets annoyed. The World Health Organization has since taken up this figure without questioning the foundations. However, walking 10,000 steps, about it 7 kilometers or 1 h 30 walkingmay seem beneficial, but is really only under certain conditions. “” It is not so much the number of steps that counts as the way we do them ”insists the doctor.
10,000 steps a day: a standard without scientific foundation
A quiet walk with her dog will not have the same effects on cardiovascular health as a quick walk with intensity variations. This nuance escapes many, and feeds a false impression of sufficient physical activity. Christian Daulouède does not mince his words: « 10,000 steps a day? Suffice to say picking daisies … » he claims. And he is not the only one to think so. In 2021, an American study relayed by Consumer Reports estimated that positive health effects (reduction of cholesterol, blood pressure, blood sugar) only become significant from 15,000 steps per day. And again, provided that these steps are taken at a sustained pace.
Doctor quips: “10,000 steps without a rod in fast walking to climb the rhune in the Basque country, it has nothing to do with 10,000 steps, even without cane, to walk Mirza …”Because the whole issue is there: Activate your heart rate, sweat, engage your muscles. Walking effortlessly returns to a maintenance activity, beneficial for the mind, but insufficient for the body. Nietzsche, Kierkegaard or Aristotle have all praised the philosophical virtues of walking, but physical health requires more stimulation. Hence the importance of Review his goals and, above all, his practices.
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Fast walking, a scientifically validated remedy
Rather than targeting an arbitrary figure, it is better to focus on the quality of the walking.« If we want to improve our health and our physical condition, lose weight, it is better to abandon the rhythm of the Sunday walker to prefer the hunter’s step» advises the doctor, that is to say in a dynamic way, varying the land, the speeds, the elevations. This type of walking promotes the combustion of fat, improves the functioning of the heart and stimulates the joints.« The heart rate must evolve and there, yes, we know that the cholesterol level will lower, that the heart will be stimulated, the joints, the muscles. Whoever walks quickly, a sustained step, improves his health ”he explains. And the good news is that this type of exercise can be practiced without specific equipment or indoor subscription.
In addition to cardio-respiratory effects, fast walking has demonstrated virtues against certain pathologies. For example, sheslows down the progression of Alzheimer’s diseaseand relieves osteoarthritis. The cartilage, specifies the doctor, feeds on the synovial fluid which is activated by movement. In other words, to keep your joints in good condition, you should not save, but continue to move. On the other hand, Nordic walking, very popular among seniors, does not find thanks to its eyes. “”She has no additional interestHe says.
