Step counting is one of the most popular and valuable everyday exercise tracking methods.

The act of counting steps is much more than just a trend. It is a fact that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has dedicated an extensive portion of its latest physical activity guidelines to analyzing the link between the daily count of steps and various chronic diseases.

The guidelines are not very helpful and are not clear on how step counts can be utilized to assist in managing weight, a crucial process due to the high prevalence of obesity and overweight within the U.S.

In the 1980s, less than 14% of the adult population in the U.S. were classified as obese. Over forty years later, obesity is more than 40% of the adult population. Recent trends suggest that nearly half of U.S. adults will be obese by 2030.

I am an instructor in the field of exercise sciences at Kennesaw State University, and our lab has been conducting studies examining the relationships between steps count and various health outcomes.

The evidence is abundant that more and more adults are suffering from an energy surplus that can lead to weight gain; the key concern is: what's the reason? What's changed in such a dramatic way since 1980, which could be the reason why obesity rates have increased by three times?

While the American diet is most likely to be a significant factor, studies point to a decrease in physical exercise as the primary factor in the growing waistlines. Step counts can be a good measure of physical activity.

Step counts could (or may not) cause weight loss

Numerous recent studies have investigated whether increasing the number of steps taken can result in losing weight over a specific time. A large-scale research dubbed a meta-analysis found that increased exercise through measures proved effective in achieving slight weight loss. However, the majority, if not all, of studies that examine the effects of exercise on weight loss reveal small results, with outcomes that vary and are often disappointing.

This could be because the targets for step count used in many weight management studies are typically made arbitrarily, for example, aiming at 10,000 steps daily. If they're personalized in any way, they depend on the initial behavior characteristics, such as adding a certain number of steps to the number an individual is already taking during a typical day. Rarely, if at all, are the steps targets for research studies determined based on the participants' physical characteristics.

My research team has collected the body fat percentages, weight, and average steps for large amounts of people between the ages of 19 and 40. Based on this data, we have discovered the best way to establish specific goals for step counts by analyzing key physical characteristics such as the body's weight and composition at baseline and the ideal body composition.

In health, knowing that body weight doesn't provide the complete picture is crucial. Body composition is more indicative of health in comparison to weight. A person who weighs heavier than a person could be healthier when they have greater muscle mass and a lower body fat percentage than the other who weighs less but has more body fat.

Understanding the numbers

Our data has been used to create a model that estimates daily averages of steps per kilogram of body fat percentage. This model could calculate how long people will have to walk to attain the desired weight and reduce body fat.

For instance, the case of a man weighing 175lbs (80 kilograms) of 25% of his body fat. Our model suggests that he takes, on average, 10,900 steps per day. Consider a man who weighs 220 lbs (100 kilograms) with 20 percent fat. While they may have different lean weight amounts, the two carry around 44 lbs (20 kg) in fat. Our model predicts that the more-weight man walks an average of 15300 steps daily. Also, the heavier person has a lower proportion of body fat and can walk more frequently to maintain a slimmer body composition.

The body fat percentage of a person is as significant as their weight. This is because the amount of muscles you have can affect the amount of hunger you feel and the quantity of calories you consume. Muscle mass is a considerable energy requirement to keep it going, which results in a greater appetite, leading to you consuming more calories. In this case, the heavier man consumes more calories than the lighter one to keep the lean mass of his muscles, and he also walks more frequently to maintain less body fat.

If you're looking to shed body fat and weight, you'll have two options: eat less or move more. If you eat less, you'll be full of hunger, which is uncomfortable, unpleasant, and, for most people, not long-term. Moving more often, in contrast, allows the body to fill up until complete and maintain the body fat off or even reduce it.

So, we were interested in knowing how much someone who eats until they're full may need to lose to compensate for the calories they're taking in.

Steps count to lose weight.

The model currently applies to young adults. However, we are also collecting data for older and middle-aged adults. To use this model, first, you must be able to determine your body's composition, which is a service offered by a growing number of fitness centers and medical practices. In our model, you must choose your body's weight and fat mass in kilograms. For this, multiply your pounds of weight by 2.2.

With this information, the model can estimate steps tailored to an individual's current body weight and fat percentage, as well as their ultimate goal of losing fat and weight loss.

Our model, for instance, estimates that a woman weighing 150 pounds (70 kg) with a body composition of 30% fat has around 8700 steps per day. Suppose she's looking to shed 10 pounds and achieve an average body fat percentage of 25 percent. In that case, she can study the model and learn that those with their body composition have approximately 545 steps for each kilogram of fat daily. Given that she currently carries 46 pounds (21 kilograms) of fat, her objective is to reach 11450 degrees daily.

Although this may appear initially to be a significant increment in the number of steps you take each day, most people can complete 1,000 steps within 10 minutes or less. If you walk at a moderate pace, this extra daily exercise routine will take less than 30 mins. Additionally, the steps can be added throughout the day with more extended or more frequent visits either way, restrooms, vending machines, and other such places.

Although it is true that steps can be taken during specific walking sessions, for example, an hour-long walk at lunchtime and a fifteen-minute walk later in the evening, it is also possible to accumulate steps during shorter, more frequent periods of activity.

Researchers have learned much about appetite and energy expenditure in the last 70 years. The urge to eat triggers foods based mainly on the fat-free mass we have regardless of whether we are active or not, and it is essential to maintain enough physical activity to counter the calories we take into our diets to maintain an energy balance or to exceed our intake to shed weight.