The short answer
There is no one number. 10,000 steps is the best known target, but researchers have found little evidence behind it, and large studies point to useful amounts below it. The number worth aiming for is one you can walk most days, a little above what you walk now.
Where 10,000 came from
The figure likely comes from a pedometer sold in Japan in 1965 called Manpo-kei, which translates to "10,000 steps meter" (Lee et al., JAMA Internal Medicine, 2019). It was a product name, not a finding.
What the research says
- A 2022 review that pooled 15 studies of adults found that "10 000 steps per day is widely promoted to have health benefits, [but] there is little evidence to support this recommendation." The benefit it saw leveled off at about 6,000 to 8,000 steps a day for adults 60 and over, and 8,000 to 10,000 for younger adults (Paluch et al., Lancet Public Health, 2022).
- A 2025 review of many more studies said that "7000 steps per day is associated with clinically meaningful improvements in health outcomes and might be a more realistic and achievable target for some," while 10,000 "can still be a viable target for those who are more active" (Ding et al., Lancet Public Health, 2025).
These studies follow large groups of people. They show what tends to go together, not what will happen for any one person.
Set your own target in Landmark
Your iPhone counts steps on its own, so this habit works without a watch.
- Open the Goals tab and tap +, then Habit, then Steps.
- Under How often, pick Each day, Each week or Each month. A weekly target lets a quiet Tuesday be made up on Saturday.
- Type your target. If Health has your history, Landmark shows your 8-week average under the field, which is a good place to start.
- For a daily target, tap Different on weekends? to ask for fewer steps on some days, or turn days off under Days.
Today then shows how many steps are left before the day, week or month ends, and whether you are on track for the rest of it.
