10,000 Steps and Other Numbers Behind "Just Move"

"Just move" sounds like a slogan, but it reflects a real shift in how health experts think about physical activity. The emphasis has moved away from formal workouts as the only thing that counts and toward total movement across the whole day. The research behind that shift comes down to a few numbers.

150 minutes, in any size pieces

The U.S. Physical Activity Guidelines recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate activity a week, such as brisk walking. Earlier versions said activity had to come in bouts of at least 10 minutes to count. The 2018 update dropped that requirement, because the evidence showed that shorter bursts, like climbing the stairs or walking quickly to the bus, also contribute to health. Everything adds up.

About 350 calories a day from not sitting still

Researchers use the term NEAT, non-exercise activity thermogenesis, for the energy we burn through everything that isn't deliberate exercise: standing, walking around the house, fidgeting, gardening, cooking, carrying shopping. In a 2005 study published in Science, James Levine and colleagues tracked people's movement with sensor-fitted underwear. Participants with obesity sat for about two and a half hours more per day than lean participants, a difference the researchers estimated at around 350 calories a day. For many people, NEAT varies far more from day to day than the calories burned in a gym session.

10,000 steps: a marketing number

The famous 10,000-step target traces back to a pedometer sold in Japan in the 1960s called the manpo-kei, which literally means "10,000-step meter." It wasn't based on research. A 2022 analysis in The Lancet Public Health, combining data from 15 studies and about 47,000 people, found that the risk of death fell as daily steps rose but leveled off at roughly 6,000 to 8,000 steps for adults over 60 and 8,000 to 10,000 for younger adults. Any increase from a low starting point helped.

A few minutes of vigorous effort

Short bursts of vigorous everyday activity, such as rushing up stairs, carrying heavy bags or walking up a steep hill, seem to have outsized benefits. A 2022 study in Nature Medicine that tracked people with wrist sensors found that three bursts of about a minute each, every day, were linked to a substantially lower risk of death among adults who didn't exercise formally. Researchers have started calling these "exercise snacks."

Ways to add movement without a workout

• Walk during phone calls
• Take the stairs for anything under three or four floors
• Stand up and move for a few minutes every half hour of sitting
• Get off public transport one stop early, or park at the far end of the lot
• Carry shopping baskets instead of pushing a cart

None of this replaces exercise for people with specific fitness goals. But for anyone who isn't active now, simply moving more during the day is a well-supported place to start.