What's The Ideal Step Count For Long-Term Weight Loss? A New Study Says This
Key takeaways
- It was just part of a catchy marketing campaign from the 1960s for a Japanese company that made a pedometer (remember those?).
- Here's what you need to know (and how much you might need to walk).
- The goal of this meta-analysis was to clarify how daily step counts relate to weight loss and long-term weight maintenance, and to identify a realistic step target for people managing obesity through lifestyle changes.
Why this matters: practical guidance grounded in recent research or expert insight.
Author: Molly Knudsen, M.S., RDNMay 10, 2026Registered Dietitian Nutritionist By Molly Knudsen, M.S., RDNRegistered Dietitian Nutritionist Molly Knudsen, M.S., RDN is a Registered Dietician Nutritionist with a bachelor’s degree in nutrition from Texas Christian University and a master’s in nutrition interventions, communication, and behavior change from Tufts University. She lives in Newport Beach, California, and enjoys connecting people to the food they eat and how it influences health and wellbeing.Image by Giada Canu / StocksyMay 10, 2026The 10,000-step goal has become so ingrained in so many of our minds as the gold standard. But is it? No. It was just part of a catchy marketing campaign from the 1960s for a Japanese company that made a pedometer (remember those?). Since then research has shown an array of health benefits for varying step counts.
Now, a new meta-analysis1 published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health has analyzed decades of that data to try and determine the ideal step count for those looking to lose weight and improve their metabolic health with walking. Here's what you need to know (and how much you might need to walk).
The goal of this meta-analysis was to clarify how daily step counts relate to weight loss and long-term weight maintenance, and to identify a realistic step target for people managing obesity through lifestyle changes.