Regular walking produces many health benefits, including reducing our risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes¹ and depression.

日常散步对健康有很多好处，包括降低得心脏病、II型糖尿病和抑郁症的风险。

Best of all, it's free, we can do it anywhere and, for most of us, it's relatively² easy to fit into our daily routines.

最棒的是，散步是免费的，在哪里都能做，而且对大多数人来说，在日常活动中加上散步很容易做到。

We often hear 10,000 as the golden number of steps to strive for in a day. But do we really need to take 10,000 steps a day?

我们常听到说每天一万步是最佳数量。但是我们每天真的需要走到一万步吗？

Not necessarily. This figure was originally popularized as part of a marketing³ campaign, and has been subject to some criticism. But if it gets you walking more, it might be a good goal to work towards.

不用。这个数字最初是作为营销的一部分火起来的，已经受到了很多的质疑。但是如果这能激励你走得更多的话，一万步不失为一个很好的目标。

Where did 10,000 come from?

但1万这个数字到底是怎么来的？

The 10,000 steps concept was initially⁴ formulated⁵ in Japan in the lead-up to the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. There was no real evidence to support this target. Rather, it was a marketing strategy to sell step counters.

一万步这个概念最初萌芽于1964年日本东京奥运会的准备期间。没有任何可靠证据可以支撑这个数字。它更像是销售计步器的营销手段。

There was very little interest in the idea until the turn of the century, when the concept was revisited by Australian health promotion⁶ researchers in 2001 to encourage people to be more active.

到了二十一世纪，这个理念才有了些价值，澳大利亚健康促进研究人员在2001年再次启用这个概念，鼓励人们加强锻炼。

Based on accumulated evidence, many physical activity guidelines around the world – including the Australian guidelines – recommend a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate intensity⁷ physical activity a week. This equates⁸ to 30 minutes on most days. A half hour of activity corresponds to about 3,000 to 4,000 dedicated⁹ steps at a moderate pace.

基于越来越多的证据，世界上许多——包括澳大利亚的运动指南里——建议每周至少保证150分钟的中等强度的运动量。这差不多相当于保证每天30分钟的运动量。而半个小时的中等强度运动量相当于每天3000到4000左右的正常步数。

In Australia, the average adult accumulates about 7,400 steps a day. So an additional 3,000 to 4,000 steps through dedicated walking will get you to the 10,000 steps target.

在澳大利亚，成年人平均每天走7400步左右。所以要达到一万的目标，还得多走个大概3000到4000步。