An entire industry has been built on the claim that 10,000 steps a day are necessary to be healthy. The completely arbitrary number has not only become entrenched in popular culture as the gold standard, but it has sold many step-counting devices and inspired interoffice competitions. So where did this number come from?

10,000 Steps originates from a successful Japanese marketing campaign in the mid-1960s. In an attempt to capitalize on the immense popularity of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, the company Yamasa designed the world’s first wearable step-counter, a device called a manpo-kei, which literally translates as “10,000-step meter.” According to Professor David Bassett, head of kinesiology, recreation and sport studies at the University of Tennessee, “There wasn’t really any evidence for it at the time…They just felt that was a number that was indicative of an active lifestyle...”

Dr. I-Min Lee, an associate epidemiologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, and a researcher on physical activity, wanted to research the basis for 10,000 steps and its validity regarding mortality. The key findings revealed that: Sedentary women averaged 2,700 steps a day; women who averaged 4,400 daily steps had a 41% reduction in mortality; mortality rates progressively improved before leveling off at approximately 7,500 steps per day; and there were about nine fewer deaths per 1,000 person-years in the most active group compared with the least active group. So, if mortality is your major concern, this study suggests you can reap benefits from 7,500 steps a day, which is 25% fewer steps than the “recommended” 10,000 steps.

Less steps…YES!!!

BUT… since the average sedentary person only gets about 2,500-3,000 steps per day, others feel that it’s more important to get people off their couches, and think that the question we should be asking is “how many steps are too few?” “The good news, says Lee, “is that upping our current step counts by even a few thousand additional strides most days could be a reasonable, sufficient — and achievable — goal.”

How To Include More Steps In Your Day…If You Need To

It's a good idea to find out how many steps you average, so you can have a personalized baseline. Once you've determined your baseline and your goals, try these ideas to fit more walking into your routine:

• Take the dog for a walk. If you don't have a dog, volunteer to walk dogs at an animal shelter, or join a friend on his or her dog walk.

• Try music. Something with a strong beat can make activity more enjoyable and help motivate you to walk farther or faster.

• Include the family. Instead of an afternoon movie, go for a walk or hike together.

• Go in person. Instead of sending a work email, walk to your colleague's desk.

• Walk while waiting. Take a walk instead of sitting when you're early for an appointment or waiting for a flight.

• Schedule workday walks. Put reminders in your calendar for short walking breaks to ramp up your energy throughout the day. Have a one-on-one meeting? Plan to walk and talk.

• Park farther away. Choose parking spots farther away from the entrance. If you take the bus, get off a stop early and walk the rest of the way.

• Take the stairs. Even going down the stairs counts as steps and burns calories.

• Walk on the treadmill. The treadmill is a great alternative if you feel that it’s too hot, too cold, too windy, too rainy, too buggy, or too dark outside.

Formal physical activity guidelines issued by the United States use time, not steps, as a recommendation. They suggest we exercise for at least 150 minutes a week, or 30 minutes most days, in addition to any moving around we do as part of our normal, daily lives. Translated into step counts, Dr. Lee said that total would work out to a little more than 16,000 steps a week for most people, or about 2,000 to 3,000 steps most days. If, like many people, we currently take about 5,000 steps a day during the course of everyday activities like shopping and housework, adding the extra 2,000 to 3,000 steps would take us to a total of between 7,000 and 8,000 steps most days, which, Dr. Lee said, seems to be the step-count sweet spot.

How far will you go today? Let us know how many steps per day you average in the comments below.