Google Fit: Is doing 10,000 steps a day actually worthwhile?

The latest Google Fit update prioritises exercise over a step goal

There’s been much debate in recent years about the supposed benefits of walking 10,000 steps a day, with some claiming that it’s not as advantageous for your health as people have been led to believe.

Google Fit has now joined the conversation, removing the step goal completely from the health and fitness platform in its latest update.

Instead, Google Fit will be encouraging its users to focus more on the amount of time they spend a day exercising, rather than the number of steps that they accumulate.

Earlier this year, medical journalist Michael Mosley investigated whether setting yourself a target of 10,000 steps a day is actually worthwhile by conducting an experiment with Professor Rob Copeland for BBC One documentary The Truth About Getting Fit.

They concluded that doing short bursts of “moderate to vigorous” exercise on a daily basis is more beneficial than achieving 10,000 steps a day, despite consisting of less physical activity overall.

Google has collaborated with the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the American Heart Association (AHA) to introduce two main activity goals in the new update for Google Fit, available on Android and the Wear OS smartwatch. These new features are called Move Minutes and Heart Points.

Move Minutes will count the amount of time you spend doing physical activity, which will include small acts such as opting to take the stairs or going for a walk.

Google Fit (Google)

With Heart Points, you’ll receive rewards for partaking in more intense physical activities, such as going for a run.

Google states that the aim of these new features is to provide a more simple approach to living a healthy and balanced life.

“There’s a lot of talk out there about how to stay active and healthy: ‘get your steps in,’ ‘sitting is the new smoking,’ ‘no pain, no gain.’ It can feel overwhelming,” the company’s statement reads.

However, despite Google Fit’s shift away from the 10,000 step goal, other fitness trackers still swear by it.

Fitbit states that 10,000 steps a day equates to approximately 30 minutes of daily activity, which can in turn lead to health benefits such as a boost of energy and a lower risk of developing Type II diabetes or cardiovascular disease.

The National Obesity Forum in the UK describes people who manage between 7,000 and 10,000 steps a day as “moderately active”, with those below described as “sedentary” and those above described as “very active.”

WHO recommends that adults aged between 18 and 64 do at least 150 minutes of moderate to intense exercise a week, which corresponds to just over 20 minutes of exercise every day.

With that in mind, perhaps placing greater importance on your weekly physical activity rather than your number of steps a day could be deemed a wise course of action.