Moving a little really does take you a long way
Bottom Line: One of my favorite daily addictions is a healthy one (the other one is coffee). The healthy one, given that my coffee intake probably isn’t, is watching my steps accumulate. Starting a few years ago with my first Fitbit, I was fascinated with how many steps I’d accumulate during a day. Part of this is due to my ridiculous schedule that constantly keeps me moving (I do one of my shows daily standing up for example). As I’m putting together this story, I’m in the 14th consecutive hour of my workday and I’ve amassed 16,789 steps. That’s nearly 8.2 miles and all I’ve done is work, ok and pace a little. Btw, my record for a work day is just over 50,000.
The point is this. Knowledge is power and the gamification of something as simple as steps can be as motivating a factor as any for moving around a little more. I make it a point to never miss a daily goal. I say all of this to encourage you to wear and use mobile health technology. It works and it’s often surprising, probably in a pleasant way. And back to the headline of the story. A little does go a long way.
According to a new Harvard study in the Medical Journal JAMA of 72-year-old women, 4,400 steps a day added years of additional life to the average person. More specifically, those who moved 4,400 steps a day or more were 41% more likely to live four or more years. And here’s the thing that applies to non 72-year-old women. In the study it was noted that the magic number for people of all ages is 7,500 steps. That’s below some non-scientific research pegging the number around 10k previously.
So, go for it. It’s fun. Or I’m a big dork. Or both.