“WALKING IS MAN’S best medicine,” said Hippocrates(古希腊医师，西方医学之父), an ancient Greek physician. Or so the story goes(据说如此；传说如此). Whether the phrase originated with him is disputed. But it does contain a kernel(核心；要点；一丝) of truth. Walking is a form of exercise that is free, requires no equipment and is easy for most people to incorporate into their days.(步行是一种免费、无需器械、且大多数人容易融入日常生活的运动形式。) But how many steps should one walk—and at what speed—to unlock its benefits?
“行走乃人类最好的良药。”古希腊医师希波克拉底曾这样说。至少传说是这么讲的。这句话是否真出自他之口，尚存争议。但它确实包含着一丝真理。步行是一种免费的运动，无需任何器械，大多数人也容易把它融入日常生活。可是，要走多少步——以什么速度走——才能获得它的益处呢？
Conventional wisdom sets 10,000 steps per day as a good target. The source of that number, though, is as questionable(可疑的；有问题的) as Hippocrates’s quotation. Its origins lie not in a clinical trial, but a Japanese advertising campaign for a pedometer(计步器) launched ahead of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics(1964年东京奥运会，亚洲首次举办的奥运会) (10,000, in Japanese Kanji, also looks a little like a person walking). Those committed to getting their steps in should not shy away from(回避；躲避) the 10,000 mark. But in terms of scientific research, the number barely has a leg to stand on.
传统观念把每天一万步当作一个不错的目标。然而，这个数字的来源和希波克拉底那句名言一样可疑。它并非出自临床试验，而是源自1964年东京奥运会前夕日本一场计步器广告宣传活动（在日文汉字中，“一万”看上去也有点像一个人在走路）。那些坚持要凑够步数的人，倒也不必回避一万这个门槛。但从科学研究的角度看，这个数字几乎站不住脚。
A study published in Lancet Public Health(《柳叶刀公共卫生》，权威医学期刊) in 2025 considered 57 papers published since 2014 to assess the connection between different daily step counts and various health outcomes. Walking more was found to be beneficial across the board(全面地；一律). Taking 7,000 steps a day, in contrast to 2,000, brought about a 47% lower risk of premature death, a 25% lower chance of developing cardiovascular disease and a 14% reduction in the risk of diabetes.(与每天走2000步相比，走7000步可使早逝风险降低47%、患心血管疾病的可能性降低25%、糖尿病风险降低14%。) Even a little goes a long way: going from 2,000 daily steps to 4,000 resulted in a 36% drop in mortality(死亡率；死亡) risk over the years tracked.
2025年发表在《柳叶刀公共卫生》上的一项研究梳理了2014年以来发表的57篇论文，以评估不同每日步数与各种健康结果之间的关联。结果发现，多走路总体上都有益处。与每天走2000步相比，走7000步可使早逝风险降低47%、患心血管疾病的可能性降低25%、糖尿病风险降低14%。哪怕只多走一点也大有裨益：在多年追踪期间，每日步数从2000增至4000，死亡风险下降了36%。