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In an interview on Radboud Recharge, exercise physiologist Thijs Eijsvogels gives his view.
No 10,000 steps is not a norm, says Thijs, although regular exercise is healthy. ‘That’s why you need to set realistic goals for yourself.’
Seven or eight kilometres is the distance that you will need to walk in order to achieve 10,000 steps, which is the number of steps that many pedometers and activity trackers prescribe per day. But do we really need to walk this much every day in order to stay healthy? “Ten thousand steps would be the holy grail, but there’s no scientific evidence to support this,” says Thijs. Despite this, adequate exercise does provide health benefits.
But how much exercise is enough? “In the Netherlands, we work on the assumption that 150 minutes, or two and a half hours, of moderately intensive exercise per week is enough: this involves doing an activity that increases your heart rate and speeds up your breathing. This is about 22 minutes a day and can be achieved by cycling or walking at a brisk pace while you’re walking the dog,” says Thijs.
Health benefits
Does this mean that 10,000 steps a day is complete nonsense? “Not exactly. Although it’s not an official guideline, there are some studies that prove that there’s a link between walking every day and a lower risk of premature death. Once you reach 10,000 steps a day, this risk is lowered by 65%, but even if you achieve 4,000 steps a day, you’ll still reap the health benefits.” And what if you don’t reach that amount of steps, but you do chores around the house every day? “Low-intensity activities, such as cooking, cleaning up or hanging out the wash, can also provide health benefits, but only if you do them for 300 minutes, or five hours, a day.”
Thijs believes that although you shouldn’t become fixated on activity trackers, they can be quite useful devices. “They provide insight into your movement behaviour. It can be quite a shock to discover how little you move, but it could also encourage you to lead a more active lifestyle. And that’s important, because 50 to 55 per cent of the adult Dutch population does not abide by the guideline of 150 minutes of moderately intensive exercise per week.”
Realistic goal
Nevertheless, TRhijs insists that we shouldn’t become fixated on the given guidelines. “A young athletic student can easily do more than 150 minutes of intensive exercise, but as you get older and your body struggles to cope with this amount of exercise, it can become an ever greater challenge. So look at what you can manage. Set a realistic goal that’s easier to maintain in the long run. And choose something that you enjoy doing. If you don’t like walking, try a different form of exercise like swimming or cycling.”
Thijs can already see a number of positive changes. “The Zevenheuvelenloop (Seven Hills Run) now includes a 70-plus category and the last few editions of the Vierdaagse (International Four Day Marches Nijmegen) saw an increasing number of participants who were over 80 years old; this even included a 93-year-old participant. Even in our old age, there are so many things that we can still do.”
Read the interview (Dutch only) on Radboud Recharge
