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Are you walking 10,000 steps daily and doing some physical activity? A day can help you lose a lot of weight because it burns calories. Due to its alignment with the general recommendations for everyday activities, this objective is frequently advised. Do you know that walking regularly helps in contributing to the calorie deficit, the state in which you burn more calories than you take in, which helps in weight loss? 

Walking also helps strengthen the heart, increases metabolism, and may help lose body fat. Also, adding nutrition, metabolism, and lifestyle choices is one of the best and easiest ways to achieve weight loss. Even though walking is a good lifestyle choice, weight reduction can be maximized by doing some physical exercise and following a proper diet.

Is Walking 10,000 Steps In A Day Enough For Weight Loss (Image Credit: Freepik)

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Dr. Vineet Arora, who is the Director of Internal Medicine and Diabetology at Max Super Speciality Hospital in Shalimar Bagh, exclusively told Jagran English about how much an adult should walk in a day and its benefits.

According to Dr. Vineet, "walking is an excellent way to enhance or sustain overall health. Just dedicating 30 minutes each day to walking can lead to increased cardiovascular fitness, stronger bones, reduced body fat, and improved muscle power and endurance. A commonly recommended guideline suggests aiming for a minimum of 151 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity per week, with walking being a suitable option. This equates to around 29–30 minutes of brisk walking on at least 5 days of the week."

In addition, he added, "One should also make sure that while walking, shoes are comfortable with appropriate heel and arch supports, as the wrong type of shoe or walking action can cause foot or shin pain, blisters, and injuries to soft tissue. Also, take light, easy steps and make sure your heel touches down before your toes, and whenever possible, walk on grass rather than concrete to help absorb the impact."

Is Walking 10,000 Steps In A Day Enough For Weight Loss (Image Credit: Freepik)

Furthermore, Dr. Vineet also said, "The recommended number of steps accumulated per day to achieve health benefits is 10,000 steps or more. Thus, it is advisable to also wear a pedometer in order to calculate the number of steps, as this motivates you to keep up the momentum for regular walking."

Carrying your own body weight during walking qualifies it as weight-bearing exercise and is beneficial in many ways:

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  1. Improves cardiovascular and pulmonary (heart and lung) health.
  2. Decreases the risk of heart disease and stroke.
  3. Contributes to better management of conditions such as hypertension (high blood pressure), high cholesterol, joint and muscular pain or Stiffness, and type 2 diabetes.
  4. Strengthen bones, enhance balance, and reduce the risk of osteoporosis.
  5. Increases muscle strength and endurance.
  6. Helps in reducing body fat.
  7. Being a low-impact exercise, walking is gentle on the joints, accommodating individuals of varying fitness levels.
  8. Walking is also associated with improved sleep quality.
  9. Serving as a social activity, walking also helps foster connections with others, whether through walks with friends and family or Participation in group activities.
  10. It elevates energy levels and reduces feelings of fatigue.
  11. Walking also enhances mood, reduces the risk of depression and anxiety, improves cognitive function, and helps with stress reduction. Thus, overall, it also helps in maintaining mental health.