Main image via Fox News + American Heart Association
There’s always that one friend who insists on taking the stairs instead of the elevator just to get in their steps for the day. While this is definitely a good habit to practice in preventing a sedentary lifestyle.
For a while now, walking 10,000 steps a day has been the way to go in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle, but does achieving all these steps actually help someone to lose weight?
Apparently not.
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According to a research carried out by Brigham Young University, walking more will decrease an individual’s sedentary time but it doesn’t actually prevent weight gain.
The new research studied 120 first-year students from the university during their first six months in college. The students were then split into three groups to find out if increasing the number of daily steps to above 10,000 would help to prevent weight and fat gain.
The first group was asked to walk 10,000 steps a day for six days a week over a period of 24 weeks, the second group was asked to walk 12,500 steps and the third group, 15,000 steps a day.
All 120 students were equipped with pedometers 24 hours a day in order to track their daily steps. Each participant’s caloric intake and weight was also tracked by the researchers.
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The research and findings were published in the Journal of Obesity and it showed that while the participants walked an average of 9,600 steps per day before the study, those in the 10,000-step group managed to average 11,066 steps a day by the end of it.
The 12,500-step group averaged their steps to 13,638 steps per day while the 15,000-step group averaged 14,557 steps.
However, the study found that no mater how many steps the students took, they still gained weight, even in the 15,000-steps-a-day group!
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Over the course of the research’s timeframe, the participants gained an average of about 1.5kg. The researchers did note however that according to previous studies, a 1.4kg average weight gain is common during the first year of college.
“Exercise alone is not always the most effective way to lose weight,” said the research’s lead author Bruce Bailey.
“If you track steps, it might have a benefit in increasing physical activity, but our study showed it won’t translate into maintaining weight or preventing weight gain,” he said.
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There is a positive side to this research however. The study authors found that walking more did help to boost physical activity levels, which “may have other emotional and health benefits.”
And of course, taking more steps a day definitely reduces an individual’s sedentary time.
The research found that walking more significant reduced the sedentary time in both the 12,500-step and 15,000-step groups, while the 15,000-step group saw a decrease of as much as 77 minutes a day!
“The biggest benefit of step recommendations is getting people out of a sedentary lifestyle,” Bruce said. “Even though it won’t prevent weight gain on its own, more steps [are] always better for you.”
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Well, now we have proof that 10,000 steps a day doesn’t help in weight loss!
For those of you who try to achieve 10,000 steps a day, we applaud you but maybe you’d have to think about changing your lifestyle if you wanna lose weight...
Share this with that friend who’s all about the 10,000-steps-a-day life!
Info via The Star