10,000 STEPS (AT LEAST); WALKING THROUGHOUT THE DAY TOUTED AS GRADUAL, REALISTIC APPROACH TO FITNESS

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
July 8, 2004
Byline: Virginia Anderson

Just as people have looked historically to 12-step programs to restore sanity and sobriety, they now are looking to a 10,000-step program to restore a healthy weight or to maintain it.

From groups like America on the Move and AARP to employers like Piedmont Hospital that reward walkers with the most steps, to the king of fast foods, McDonald's, people are recognizing that walking --- throughout the day --- is a key way to nudge Americans out of sedentary lifestyles.

McDonald's introduced an adult Happy Meal on May 11 that included a step counter with a salad and bottled water. The promotion was intended originally to last through June 9, but based on its popularity the company extended it through the Fourth of July. Between 10 million and 15 million step counters were distributed, but many stores ran out because demand was so high, a company spokeswoman said.

Based on a successful pilot walking program in Richmond and Madison, Wis., AARP launched a walking program in 12 states, including Georgia that began July 1.

Millions of people have long turned to walking for exercise, but what's different now is walking throughout the day --- in the office, at school --- and measuring steps with step counters or pedometers clipped onto belts, trousers or shorts. The new walking attitude also focuses on small improvements and learning about energy balance in weight control.

"Now, instead of riding the elevator, I'll take the steps. I'm parking at the far end of parking lots. I'm adding about 1,000 to 1,500 steps a day," said Helen Ebaugh, director of infection control/occupational health at DeKalb Medical Center. Ebaugh also walks three to five miles at least twice a week, but she has found that adding the thousand or so steps throughout the day makes her feel better and more conscious of lifestyle choices.

As the obesity epidemic continues to weigh heavily on millions of Americans, doctors, fitness directors and those who work with the aging and other specialized groups are encouraging people to wear step counters and to increase their daily walking.

One reason is the difficulty that inactive, overweight people face in setting realistic goals for weight loss and exercise. Studies show that the overwhelming majority of overweight people want to lose weight, but that few are able to commit initially to a demanding exercise program.

Many experts now recommend a more realistic approach --- start with baby steps. The thinking is that as people begin to feel better and more self-confident and successful in a weight loss effort, the more enthusiastic they will become with time.

"It's amazing what they can do with little steps," said James Hill, co-founder of the National Weight Control Registry and professor at the University of Colorado.

Some programs tout 10,000 steps as the goal; others suggest more for people who want to lose weight and keep it off. Ten thousand steps is about five miles, and many researchers think 10,000 is enough to provide weight loss of about a pound a week if calorie intake is average.

While walking may not be the cure to obesity, it can be a way to begin the fight.

"When we were seeing everybody out there wringing their hands, we began to think of ways to just get people moving," said Hill, who has co-written a book on step counting as a way to lose weight, "The Step Diet Book."

"We like a gradual increase," Hill said. "Two thousand [steps] is enough to stop weight gain, but often you have to go beyond 10,000 to lose weight. The point is, you build up gradually."

Pedometers and step counters are also important to teach energy balance or how to keep the fuel coming into the body in balance with the energy output to avoid weight gain. Americans are very poor at energy balance, Hill said, because "we don't teach it. We all need to have energy balance skills. We need to teach kids about that just like finances."

In the pilot program in Wisconsin, the step-counting walking program became group projects for churches, where members counted steps and added them together. They had a "virtual walk" to Tanzania, where the church has a mission, said Ken Mitchell, state director of AARP Georgia.

"You've just got to make it fun," Mitchell said.

That's also where the step counters and pedometers come in. Many people relish the discovery of finding out exactly how far a certain path or activity is.

"My husband will come back in and say, 'Honey, that's two miles and a tenth!' " said Virginia Allen, 79, who walks with her husband, Bill, 78, around their Oak Grove neighborhood in DeKalb County, with a walking group, and on a treadmill at their home. The couple have graduated from step counting to mile counting and have a pedometer that measures caloric expenditure as well as distance. On Tuesdays, they walk with a group at Wesley Woods Center on Aging at Emory University on Clifton Road and enjoy the beauty and safety of a nature trail.

While Virginia Allen said the exercise has helped keep her weight stable and her diabetes in check, the couple have found that walking with the others on Tuesday has another benefit.

"The neat thing about a group of five or six is the conversation that goes on," Virginia Allen said. "We don't necessarily talk about our aches and pain; we just share good, good conversation."

Hill said walking groups across the country have reported similar stories to him and other researchers.

"It's creating community and that works especially great in the work site."