By Erin Kayata
Feel that buzz? It’s your fitness tracker reminding you to move so you can hit your goal of 10,000 steps a day.
But many users of these devices are already aware of the reality that this is an arbitrary benchmark that, according to Ram Hariharan, an associate teaching professor at Northeastern University’s College of Engineering.
“There’s certainly nothing special about 10,000,” says Hariharan, who focuses on human longevity and machine learning. “Is there anything special about any of the values we look at in (health)? (Baseline numbers) are based on statistical averages rounded up or rounded down. This one is not based on statistical averages.”
So, how many steps should you be taking a day?
Hariharan says there’s evidence that 7,000 to 8,000 steps today might have some health benefits for people, but there is no magic number of steps to take to walk your way to health. The key isn’t the number, but focusing on both your health and fitness goals while also aiming to add more activity into your day.
