Manpo-Kei: The Science behind 10,000 Steps a Day

“Walk at least 10,000 steps a day,” is a modern-day axiom that’s gotten entrenched into fitness regimes across the globe. And with the proliferation of smartwatches, activity trackers and mobile pedometers, this has become a global obsession.

But you’ll be surprised to know that this 10,000 steps a day is actually an arbitrary number. There is no science behind this.

It just so happened that, in an attempt to capitalize on the immense popularity of the 1964 #Tokyo #Olympics, the company Yamasa designed the world’s first wearable step-counter, a device called a manpo-kei, which translates to “10,000-step meter” ( Man – 10,000, Po – Step, Kei – Meter.)

And it just caught on!

Even the World Health Organization (WHO), the American Heart Foundation, and the US Department of Health & Human Services have all gradually adopted 10,000 steps as a daily activity recommendation.

It was only recently that the veracity of this number has been called into question.

There was actually no solid research behind the number. The Japanese company just felt that the number was indicative of someone who has an active lifestyle and should be healthy.

It was just a clever bit of marketing that caught on!