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  • Q&A with Australian Health Practitioners

    How many steps should I walk per day?

    Related Topics
    Fitness and Sports Medicine Weight Management
    Does it change for weight and age?
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    Amanda Clark

    Dietitian, Nutritionist

    Amanda Clark (Adv APD) is a senior dietitian at Great Ideas in Nutrition on the Gold Coast. She is the creator of Portion Perfection, a … View Profile

    This depends on your situation. For most of us it is “More than we do now”. 10,000 steps per day is ideal for general health or over 12000 for weight loss, but if you're only doing 3000 steps per day now, then 5000 could be good. The step count includes all incidental activity as well as focussed exercise.

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    Megan Leane

    Dietitian, Nutritionist

    I am an Accredited Practising Dietitian with expertise in chronic disease management (diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol), weight loss, medical nutrition, allergy management and … View Profile

    Let me first say any movement is valuable movement, it doesn't necessarily need to be steps alone. Steps are very easy to accumulate as we move around during the day which makes it a great goal to measure.

    In general Australians are recommended to reach 10,000 steps per day, however it is much more individual.

    If you are looking to lose weight you may need more steps, but if you are new to regular walking or experience any pain preventing you from walking for extended periods of time you will need to aim for less than 10,000 to prevent injury and fatigue.

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  • Jodie Krantz

    Physiotherapist, Pilates Instructor

    As a Physiotherapist for many years, I have a special interest in managing chronic and recurrent pain using exercise. Our small team of Physiotherapists are … View Profile

    Some people find it really motivating to wear a pedometer to measure steps and set a goal or target for each day. I have a Fitbit Flex wristband, which I find great, but some other brands also monitor vertical movement, so you get extra credit for stairs and hills.

    For those who are limite by pain cycling swimming or aqua classes might be a good alternative. The aim should be a minimum of 2.5 hours of moderate exercise each week.

    Even if you do regular vigorous exercise, spending long periods of sitting has detrimental affects on your body, especially your circulatory system and musculo-skeletal system. So get up out of your chair and get moving for a minute or two every half hour.

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