We are pleased to announce that as of March 4, 2025, an updated Rich Text Editor has been introduced in the MyFitnessPal Community. To learn more about the changes, please click here. We look forward to sharing this new feature with you!
Getting steps in

Samm471
Posts: 432 Member
What is the main reason everyone wants to hit their step goal? I see a lot of people aiming for so many steps a day and personal trainers encouraging clients to get their steps in but what is the main reason for this and why is it mostly 10k steps a day? I know obviously it’s so that your moving and burning calories but what is so important about getting those steps in everyday?
0
Replies
-
I think it's not so much about calories as it is about having an active and healthy lifestyle, since many of us are too sedentary to begin with. Although I will admit I don't mind the extra calories2
-
I think I vaguely recall reading somewhere that while there’s nothing super magical about 10k steps a day, people who get at least that number of steps are “healthier” overall (weight, blood pressure, cholesterol, body fat, blood sugar, movement, risk of cardiac events/stroke, less things like low back pain, need for joint replacements, etc).
That’s not saying if you get 10k steps a day you’ll be immortal and have no health problems nor is it saying that people who take fewer steps can’t also have some (or all) of the same positive health markers. Just that people who do get 10k+ steps tend to be healthier than those who don’t.
And like the above-it’s very much about living an active lifestyle.
And in my case, my step goal is 1 step more than whatever my brother did that day.1
This discussion has been closed.
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 391.6K Introduce Yourself
- 43.5K Getting Started
- 260.5K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.6K Food and Nutrition
- 47.5K Recipes
- 232.7K Fitness and Exercise
- 393 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.4K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.7K Motivation and Support
- 8.1K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.4K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.3K MyFitnessPal Information
- 23 News and Announcements
- 934 Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.7K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions