Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 18, 2026
Substantiating Appropriate Motion Capture Techniques for the Assessment of Nordic Walking Gait and Posture in Older Adults
Published on: May 12, 2016
Comparison of walking recommendations in previously inactive women
Cherilyn N Hultquist1, Carolyn Albright, Dixie L Thompson
1Department of Exercise, Sport, and Leisure Studies and the Center for Physical Activity and Health, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996-2700, USA.
Purpose:
To compare the number of steps accumulated by women instructed to walk 10,000 steps per day (10K group) with those told to take a brisk 30-min walk on most, preferably all, days of the week (30-min group).
Methods:
Daily steps were compared for 58 sedentary women (mean age 45.0+/-6.0 yr) randomly assigned to either the 10K or the 30-min group. Subjects wore a sealed pedometer for 2 wk for baseline physical activity assessment. Those averaging
Results:
There were no differences (P>0.05) between the groups for baseline steps. During the intervention, there was a significant difference (P<0.005) between groups in daily steps. The 30-min group walked 8270+/-354 steps per day, and the 10K group walked 10,159+/-292 steps per day. The 30-min group averaged 9505+/-326 steps per day on the days that a 30-min walk occurred, and 5597+/-363 steps per day when no walk occurred (P<0.05). The 10K group averaged 11,775+/-207 steps on days when they walked at least 10,000 steps, and 7780+/-231 steps on days that their target was not achieved (P<0.05).
Conclusion:
Women walk more when told to take 10,000 steps per day compared with those instructed to take a brisk 30-min walk. On days when women took a 30-min walk, their average step count was near 10,000.
