Counting Steps

We sometimes ignore helpful things that are right around us. A good example of this is the health related applications of our cell phones. Cell phones have built in step counters. Some people never look at them. However, we know that is a mistake.

If you get in the habit of looking at the number of steps you take, you will encourage yourself to increase the number. So no matter where you start, you tend to want to do better over time.

There have been multiple medical studies looking at health and total daily number of steps. All of them have found that as the number of steps increases, the risk of death from any cause decreases. It is important to note that this refers to “any cause.” It does not refer to those usually associated with exercise. Movement has benefits beyond those things typically associated with it.

That happens up to a point. After that point the risk remains steady. So it does not matter if you walk a lot beyond that.

One may wonder what those numbers look like. For the average adult aged 18 years to 59 years, death risk decreases as the number of steps increases up to the 7,000 to 10,000 steps a day range. More than that offers no additional benefit. Less than that means there is a missed opportunity.

As people age, the number of steps needed decreases. Thus for adults over 60 years of age, death risk decreases as steps rise up to about 6,000 to 8,000 steps per day.

Of interest is that the benefit is based upon the total number of steps. Intensity of the exercise does not seem to provide added benefit death from any cause. The intensity will improve your risk for certain causes. For example, aerobic steps are helpful for heart disease. However, aerobic activity does not have the same impact on many other causes of death.

The benefit goes up for each thousand steps that are taken. So even 1,000 or 2,000 steps will show benefits over time.

The best approach to this is to look at the steps counting app on your phone. It will give you a summary of what you have been doing.

For example, at a glance my iPhone tells me that in 2024, I averaged 6,118 steps a day and in 2025, I am averaging 7,049 steps a day. Since I am in the above 60 years of age group, that has me in the recommended 6,000 to 8,000 steps per day.

Once you have the baseline numbers, you can set a goal to increase them by 1,000 steps per day over a specific period of time. That will provide you the benefit of an additional 1,000 steps. You can then advance the goal in the future. Then, once you get to the recommended level, you can maintain yourself at that level.

Of course all of this is based on the fact that you carry your phone with you. For example, you get no steps sitting at a table in a restaurant scrolling your phone. However, you do get benefit putting your phone down and socializing with those with you. It is just a different kind of benefit.

There is a place and a time for your phone to help you. It is really up to you to make the most of it. Step up and seize the opportunity.