Did our Ancestors Walk 10,000 Steps per Day? The Truth Behind How Many Steps our Ancestors Walked

At the beginning of October 2024, I was invited to participate in a Walktober challenge with some of my colleagues. Our district had set up the challenge as a health initiative where we would build teams and track our steps.

One of my more ambitious colleagues, Susie, suggested we make a 'competitive team' for people who wanted to walk 10,000 steps or more daily. I quickly jumped at the opportunity. I had been struggling immensely with my movement and exercise routines, and I figured a bit of extrinsic motivation would be helpful in weaning me back into it. So I joined the competitive team, and committed to walking a minimum of 10,000 steps/day for the rest of the month. 

I've now participated in the Walktober challenge twice (2024 and 2025), and it's sparked me to think about the 10,000 steps metric.

Why 10,000 Steps per Day?

For years I've heard the 10,000 steps/day metric tossed around as the 'gold standard' for a daily walking and movement goal. But, where did the 10,000 steps/day metric even come from? Does the 10,000 steps metric align with what our genome 'expects' in terms of movement? And, furthermore, is 10,000 steps/day a realistic goal for the average modern human?

Where the 10,000 steps per day metric originated

The 10,000 steps metric didn't grow out of nowhere. In fact, it was very purposefully implemented. According to Havard Health Publishing and Nuffield Health, back in 1964-1965, a Japanese company developed a pedometer (a step counter) before the Tokyo Olympics. They called the device Manpo-kei, which translates to “10,000 steps meter.”

A pedometer, also known as a step-counter, is a device that counts steps by detecting hand or hip motion. Many people have pedometers built into their smartphones or smartwatches. The word comes from the prefix ped-, which refers to "foot" (think: pedal, pedicure, etc.), and the affix -meter, which means a tool that measures. 

Whether or not the pedometer stuck around, the marketing campaign was obviously extremely successful in terms of communicating a message, since this step 10,000 steps/day count is now etched into the consciousness of people worldwide.

Today, the idea of reaching 10,000 steps/day is a common baseline metric in many health and wellness spaces. When I worked as a personal trainer, I often recommended my clients to hit 8,000 - 10,000 steps per day to bolster their NEAT—or their Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis. NEAT is the culmination of calories that we burn throughout the day from activities that are not exercise specific—cooking, cleaning, typing, or even tapping a foot. Although it seems small, this NEAT can account for up to 20% of our daily calorie expenditure, and most of the "steps" we take in a day are not from exercise, but are from the non-exercise physical activities that contributes to NEAT.

Regardless of where it came from, the question then becomes: is there any weight behind the 10,000 steps/day goal? Does 10,000 steps per day improve our health? How does 10,000 steps/day goal match up to our evolutionary history?

Is the 10,000 steps per day metric anything like what our ancestors walked? How much did our ancestors walk?

I have always enjoyed the evolutionary perspective when it comes to evaluating health and wellness. This is because I believe our bodies have adapted to expect and optimally perform in relationship with specific conditions and stimuli; these adaptations happened through millions of years of evolution. Yet, the complexities and conditions of our modern world are a short blink of an eye in comparison to these preceding millions of years. So, we don't often receive the conditions and stimuli we need, and this is reflected in our health.

We will never actually know how much our ancestors walked, unless some day Doc Brown volunteers to take a Manpo-kei pedometer back to the Middle Paleolithic. 

However, through anthropological evidence—a combination of fossil records and ethnographic reports of more traditional hunter-gatherer and agricultural societies—we can make hypotheses about how far our ancestors may have walked.

According to an academic essay published in Current Biology, the Hadza—a hunter-gatherer tribe in Africa—take an average of 18,434 steps/day for men, and an average of 10,921 steps/day for women.

Another study evaluated the Tsimane, an indigenous tribe deep in the forests of Bolivia who subsist on farming, hunting, and gathering. The study examined prevalence of atherosclerosis in relationship to lifestyle factors like movement and smoking. The study found that the Tsimane generally obtain approximately 15,000 steps per day.

Additionally, the Tarahumara—an indigenous agricultural tribe in Northern Mexico—walk or run about 18,800 steps/day (give or take 4,500!). If these averages were used as a model of our ancestral history, they would actually suggest that traditional human societies walk or run well over 10,000 steps/day.

These numbers may higher than average hunter-gatherers and other traditional societies, though. For example, the Tarahumara are a tribe that are renowned for their distance running habits; in fact, the Tarahumara are known to run up to 200 miles through canyons and across diverse terrain in a single session. It's possible, then, that tribes Tarahumara are more of an exception than a rule for daily step counts in these traditional tribes.

Biomechanics health expert Katy Bowman proposes that our ancestors walked an average about 2.75 miles per day in order to procure the resources necessary for survival (from her book Move Your DNA). Although this would equate to different step counts for different people (depending on the length of their gait), 2.75 miles would only put me around 7,000 steps/day.

As this photo suggests, the 2.75 miles proposed by Katy Bowman would still put my own personal step count at just around 7,000 steps/day. This figure is much smaller than the ambitious averages of 10,000-22,000 steps/day of the Hadza, the Tsimane, and the Tarahumara.

Regardless of what the exact number is, the evidence suggests that our likely averaged out to 10,000 steps per day or more on the average day; the evidence also makes clear that our ancestors took well above the 3,000 - 4,000 steps per day of the average American.

Why do we need to take more steps? An ancestral perspective

Through millions of years of evolution, our bodies were hardwired to expect a specific amount of movement. For our ancestors, movement was essential for survival. Whether it was hunting, gathering, building shelter, or escaping predators, their lives were inextricably linked to daily physical activity. This meant constant walking, running, climbing, and lifting, which meant our ancestors took a lot of steps per day. Our biology is still adapted to that active lifestyle, but modern life has radically shifted.

Today, a person can procure all of the necessities of life without even leaving their home.

Food can be delivered to the doorstep with a few swipes of the thumbs.

Water comes from the pipes with the pull of a handle, and, for most of us, someone else gathered materials and constructed our houses for us.

Many of our jobs require almost constant sitting.

Most movement is no longer necessary for survival, yet our bodies and our brains are hard-wired to expect it; our bodies haven't evolved to thrive under such sedentary conditions. Vital systems in our body—such as our cardiovascular, metabolic, muscular, and skeletal systems—still require sufficient movement for optimal function.

This mismatch between our biology and environment contributes to a host of modern health problems like heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and musculoskeletal issues, to name a few. This phenomenon is often referred to as an 'evolutionary mismatch,' and fits into the umbrella of the 'Paleo Mismatch Theory.'

More movement is essential for optimal health. However, does this movement need to be walking? Does it need to be 'steps?'

No. 

But, as mentioned by anthropologists and biomechanic experts David Raichlen and Daniel E Lieberman, "walking is the most fundamental form of human physical activity, there has long been a focus on the effects of varying doses of step counts (steps taken per day) on health outcomes". Steps are simply a convenient 'unit' for measuring movement.

How many steps is realistic in the modern era?

As much as we might like to, most of us will never be able to hit an average daily step count of 18,000 (or more) like the Hadza or the Tarahumara. However, as we have already established, the 3,000-4,000 steps/day range is likely insufficient for aligning with biological adaptations and achieving optimal health.

A research team composed of members from The National Institute of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) conducted a study that found that just 8,000 steps/day lowered mortality rate by 50% over a decade in people over the age of 60. However, they also found that over 12,000 steps/day lowered the mortality rate by 65%. Thus, it could be seen that 12,000 steps/day or more is ideal for long term health outcomes.

"Walking is the most fundamental form of human physical activity, there has long been a focus on the effects of varying doses of step counts (steps taken per day) on health outcomes" - Daniel Lieberman and David Raichlen

Although it is not clear to me exactly how many steps the modern human should walk to improve alignment with evolutionary biology, the research suggests that 7,000 steps/day would be hard minimum.

However, it appears that reaching the 8,000-12,000 steps/day mark yields additional benefits, and aligns more closely with hypotheses drawn from modern hunter-gatherer tribes.

Thus, it is likely that our ancestors walked, on average, 10,000 steps/day or more to procure the resources necessary for survival.

My Reflections on walking more steps (10,000+ steps / day)

Over the course of the month of October 2024 (when I first wrote this article), I walked a minimum of 10,000 steps/day. I participated in the same activity in October 2025. During this time, I learned a lot.

Different types of pedometers track steps differently

First, I learned that 10,000 steps/day using a phone as a pedometer is NOT the same as 10,000 steps/day using a smart watch as a pedometer.

For the first week and a half of October 2024, I used only my phone, and I found myself walking an additional 1+ hours at the end of the day (even though I am a teacher who is on my feet walking for most of the day everyday). As soon as I started recording my steps with a FitBit, I was hitting the 10,000 steps/day mark with much more ease. In fact, when my watch hit 10,000 steps, my phone was still lagging behind at about 7,500.

My guess is that this difference is two-fold:

First, there may be small periods during the day where my phone is not in my pocket that I accumulate more steps.

Second, I hypothesize a pedometer on the wrist will pick up large arm movements such as pointing to a whiteboard, cleaning dishes, or waving at someone, while the phone in the pocket would not.

Regardless, the measuring device is a relevant factor.

Walking 10,000 - 20,000+ steps is difficult in the modern era

Next, I learned that walking an amount comparable to the Hadza or the Tarahumara is very difficult in the modern era. A few days I made it my goal to hit 18,000+ steps/day to try to match the average of the male Hadza, and I was shocked at how much intentional effort I had to put in to get this number.

For example, one day my partner and I hiked 12 miles through Rocky Mountain National Park with a bit over 3,000 feet of elevation gain, and I landed around 30,000 steps. The entire hike took us a good chunk of the day.

On opening day of hunting season we spot and stalk hunted through the woods from before dawn until after dusk. We didn't see anything, but during the day I walked about 22,000 steps.

Yet this would apparently be an average Tuesday for a Tarahumara.

With responsibilities that we have today, the amount of steps our ancestors took would simply be unrealistic to maintain in the modern era.

10,000 steps/day average does not equal 10,000 steps/day minimum

I also learned that a 10,000 steps/day minimum is a lot different from a 10,000 steps/day average. There were days during October where I went on a long hike and hit over 30,000 steps. Theoretically, this would mean that the next two days I could just laze around to let the average balance itself out.

However, this Walktober challenge required a 10,000 steps/day minimum, meaning that even if I hit 32,000 steps on Wednesday, I still had to hit a minimum of 10,000 steps the following day. This had benefits and drawbacks, I believe; it did keep me very active; however, the incessant need for more steps actually interfered with time I could have devoted to the gym, yoga, stretching, and physical therapy.

What lessons our ancestors can teach us about our step counts

Our ancestors moved more than us in nearly every way. Although our modern lifestyles will likely never allow us to fully return to this way of life, we can take their movement patterns as a lesson in lifestyle.

Movement is an absolute vitality for good health. Not just more exercise, but more movement. Shooting to increase our step counts can be an effective lever towards achieving optimum health. 

References

Bowman, K. (2017). Move your DNA: Restore your health through natural movement (2nd ed.). Propriometrics Press.

CDC (2022). Measuring Physical Activity Intensity. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/...

del Pozo Cruz, B., Ahmadi, M., Naismith, S. L., & Stamatakis, E. (2022). Association of daily step count and intensity with incident dementia in 78,430 adults living in the UK. JAMA Neurology, 79(10), 1059–1063. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamaneurol.20...

Juststand.org (2022). The facts: The human body is designed to move.

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Raichlen, D. & Lieberman, D. (2022), The evolution of human step counts and its association with the risk of chronic disease. Current Biology, 32(21), R1206-R1214.

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