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Table 1 Government/agency/professional organization step-based recommendations from around the world

From: How many steps/day are enough? for adults

Government/

agency/

professional organization

Step-based recommendation

Queensland Health (Australia)

Sponsors 10,000 Steps: "aims to increase the day-to-day activity of Australians by encouraging you to use a step-counting pedometer to accumulate 'incidental' physical activity as part of your everyday living" (http://www.10000steps.org.au/)

National Heart Association of Australia

Produced a brochure in 2009 "Making every step count" ISBN 978-1-921226-71-7, http://www.heartfoundation.org.au, that says "a suggested target for healthy adults is 10,000 steps per day."

U.S. President's Challenge Physical Activity and Fitness Awards Program

Recommends 8,500 steps/day for adults, and 13,000 and 11,000 steps/day for boys and girls respectively

(http://www.presidentschallenge.org/challenge/active/index.shtml)

America on the Move

Promotes walking an extra 2,000 steps in addition to eating 100 less calories each day to stop weight gain(http://aom3.americaonthemove.org/)

National Obesity Forum (U.K)

Indicates that 3,000 to 6,000 steps/day is sedentary, 7,000 to 10,000 steps is moderately active, and > 11,000 steps/day is very active. (http://www.nationalobesityforum.org.uk/healthcare-professionals-mainmenu-155/treatment-mainmenu-169/192-useful-tools-and-agencies.html)

Northern Ireland's Public Health Agency

Promotes an additional 30 minutes of daily walking or 3000 steps (http://www.getalifegetactive.com/adults/walking/walking)

Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan [77]

Recommends: "for individuals who intend to promote health mainly through physical activity, a daily walk of 8,000 to 10,000 steps is set as the target. The report indicates that 8,000 to 10,000 steps/day is approximately equivalent to 60 minutes of walking per day at an intensity of 3 METs, and that it is also approximately equivalent to 23 MET-hours/week of MVPA which is the recommended physical activity level in this guideline.