When we talk about fitness and overall health, walking 10,000 steps every day is treated as a gold standard. But US entrepreneur and investor Karl Mehta shared a video on X, which challenges this practice stating that science tells a different story.
In a recent podcast clip shared online, Mehta described walking as "the most underrated medicine on Earth," highlighting research that associates regular walking to lower blood sugar, reduced blood pressure, improved mental health and a lower risk of premature death.
His message was simple: health benefits are not just about hitting an arbitrary step target. How, when and why you walk may matter just as much.
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The 10,000-Step Goal Started as a Marketing Idea
One of the biggest takeaways from Mehta's discussion was that the widely accepted 10,000-step benchmark did not originate from medical research.
According to the podcast, the number gained popularity in 1965 when a Japanese company launched a pedometer called the "Manpo-kei," which translates to "10,000-step meter."
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More recent research analyzing dozens of studies suggests that the biggest health gains occur well before 10,000 steps. Mehta cited data that found that 7,000 daily steps was associated with a significantly lower risk of early death compared with people who walked only about 2,000 steps per day.
