How many steps a day to lose weight?

Walking can support weight loss, especially if you’re mostly sedentary and start moving more each day. While 10,000 steps is a popular goal, the number you need to lose weight varies based on your body and activity level. Many people can see weight loss results at a lower number of daily steps. 

If you currently have a pretty sedentary lifestyle, gradually increasing your daily steps can help — and combining walking with changes to your diet, resistance training, and, if appropriate, medical weight loss support, like Ro’s clinician-guided programs, may lead to better, more sustainable results.

For most people, a daily goal of 7,000 to 10,000 steps is an effective range for supporting weight loss, especially when combined with supportive nutrition habits. 

If you’re not very active right now, you don’t need to jump straight to 10,000 steps to see progress. Research suggests that previously inactive adults begin to see meaningful health improvements and sometimes modest weight loss at around 7,000 steps per day. 

As your endurance builds, gradually increasing your step count can help you burn more calories and make weight loss easier to sustain over time.

Public health guidelines support this. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity per week for adults. That can be broken down to 30 minutes a day, five days a week. A brisk 30-minute walk typically adds about 3,000-4,000 steps, which can be a meaningful contribution to support general health.

That said, weight loss often requires more total daily movement. That’s where the commonly cited 10,000-step goal comes in. 

The actual number of steps you need to lose weight is individual, but regularly reaching this 10,000-step goal has been linked to improvements in heart health, mental well-being, and longevity, along with a lower risk of conditions like diabetes, dementia, and heart disease. Those benefits of walking can make it easier to maintain a calorie deficit and stay consistent with movement long term.

Those steps don’t need to come from one long walk, though. They can be spread throughout your day through short walks, errands, taking the stairs, or simply moving more during your normal routine. What matters most is your average daily step count over time.

To put the 10,000-step goal into context:

• At a moderate pace, walking 10,000 steps usually takes a little over 90 minutes total, which can be spread throughout the day.

• For most people, 10,000 steps equals about 5 miles of walking.

See if you qualify

Recommended steps by age

Step goals aren’t the same for everyone. Age, fitness level, weight, and overall health all influence how much walking makes sense, especially if weight loss is the goal. The ranges below reflect widely used public health guidelines and large population studies, but they’re meant to be flexible starting points, not strict rules. Individual recommendations will vary.

• Children and teens (ages 5–18): Most guidelines recommend at least 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity per day, which often corresponds to roughly 10,000 to 16,000 steps. This includes walking, but also play, sports, and other active movement throughout the day. 

• Adults (ages 19–64): A daily range of 7,000 to 10,000 steps supports overall health, with many adults seeing more consistent weight loss closer to the higher end of that range. 

• Older adults (ages 65 and up): Health benefits tend to level off between about 6,000 and 8,000 steps per day. This range is associated with better mobility and lower chronic disease risk while generally being more manageable and sustainable for joint health.

If you’re working toward weight loss or managing a medical condition, a healthcare provider can help you set a safe, effective step goal. Ro’s clinicians can also help tailor activity goals as part of a personalized weight loss approach.

Yes, walking 10,000 steps a day can help with weight loss, but specific results will vary from person to person.

How much weight you can lose by hitting this daily step range depends on several factors, including your starting activity level, diet, age, body weight, and overall fitness. People who are starting out as mostly sedentary tend to see the biggest changes when they increase their daily steps, because adding even moderate movement represents a meaningful jump in calorie burn.

There’s some research to support this. In a longer-term study, adults who consistently averaged around 10,000 steps per day were more likely to lose at least 10% of their body weight (and keep it off) over 18 months, especially when walking was combined with other healthy lifestyle changes.

 That kind of steady, gradual progress aligns with what experts consider safe and sustainable weight loss, which is typically about 1 to 2 pounds per week at most. 

If you’re already walking close to 10,000 steps a day and not losing weight, it usually means something else needs to shift. That might mean increasing your overall activity by adding strength training or higher-intensity walking, or making adjustments to your calorie intake. 

For many people, walking works best as part of a broader plan. Combining daily steps with nutrition changes and, when appropriate, medical weight loss support can help make your results more consistent. 

Ro’s clinician-led weight loss programs include options like GLP-1 medications (glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist medications) when deemed appropriate. These medications, like Wegovy (semaglutide) and Zepbound (tirzepatide, a dual GLP-1/GIP medication) can help decrease your appetite, improve your insulin sensitivity, and address other factors that walking alone may not fully tackle.

How many calories does 10,000 steps burn?

For most adults, walking 10,000 steps burns roughly 400 to 500 calories.

That estimate is an average, not a guarantee. Exactly how many calories you burn depends on several factors, including your body weight, sex assigned at birth, walking pace, and terrain. Someone who weighs more or walks faster will generally burn more calories than someone who weighs less or moves at a slower pace.

A simple way to estimate calorie burn is by distance. For many people, 10,000 steps equals about 5 miles. A common rule of thumb is that walking burns roughly 100 calories per mile, which puts 10,000 steps near the 500-calorie range. Walking uphill, carrying weight, or increasing your speed can push that number even higher.

The 10,000-step goal started as a marketing idea, not a scientific one. In the 1960s, a Japanese company introduced a pedometer called the Manpo-kei, which means “10,000-step meter.” The number itself is relatively arbitrary. Put simply, it was catchy, easy to remember, and represented an active lifestyle.

Over time, researchers began studying daily step counts, and 10,000 steps turned out to be a useful reference point. While 10,000 steps is not a magic threshold, higher step counts have been linked to better heart health, lower disease risk, and improved weight management, which helped reinforce the number’s popularity.

Today, experts see 10,000 steps as a helpful benchmark, not a rule. Many people see meaningful benefits at lower step counts (that 7,000–8,000 step range we’ve referenced earlier), while others may aim higher. What matters most is moving more in a way that fits your body and lifestyle.

How many steps you need to lose weight isn’t fixed. Several factors influence how much benefit you’ll get from walking and where your personal “sweet spot” may land, including:

• Weight and body composition: People with higher body weight generally burn more calories per step, since moving a larger body requires more energy than moving a smaller one.

• Walking speed: Brisk walking burns more calories than walking at a casual pace. Even short stretches of faster walking can make the same number of steps more effective.

• Terrain: Hills, stairs, and uneven surfaces raise the effort required and help you burn  more calories than you would walking on a flat surface.

• Current activity level: People who are mostly sedentary often see benefits at lower step counts, while more active individuals may need higher totals or added intensity (such as increasing speed, changing the terrain, or adding a weighted vest).

• Diet: Walking supports weight loss, but it can’t fully counteract consistently high calorie intake. Nutrition still plays a major role.

• Age and fitness level: What’s realistic and beneficial depends on your age, fitness level, and any health limitations, so your step goals need to reflect what’s possible for your overall health.

A few small tweaks can make your daily steps work harder for you without adding much extra time, including:

1. Pick up the pace

Aim for brisk walking, where you can still talk but would struggle to sing. This raises your heart rate and increases calorie burn.

2. Add intervals

Mix in short bursts of faster walking, then return to your normal pace. Even brief intervals of increased speed can boost the overall intensity of your walk.

3. Include inclines

Walking hills or using an incline on a treadmill forces your body to work harder and burns more calories per step compared to walking on a flat surface.

4. Break it up

Multiple 10–15 minute walks spread throughout the day can have a similar effect as one longer walk and may be easier to work into your daily routine.

5. Add resistance

Using a weighted vest or light hand weights can help you increase the effort you exert on walks, but make sure to start with smaller weights  to avoid strain or injury.

6. Combine with strength training

Adding strength workouts about two or three times a week helps preserve and build muscle, which supports metabolism during weight loss.

7. Track progress

A fitness tracker or step app can help you stay consistent and see how your daily movement adds up over time.

There are several easy ways to track your steps, and the best option is the one you’ll actually use day to day. Here’s how the most common tools compare:

• Fitness trackers and smartwatches: These are among the most accurate options, especially if you’re using a model with GPS that can estimate distance and pace. Popular options include Fitbit, Apple Watch, Garmin, and Samsung devices, many of which also provide insights into heart rate and walking intensity.

• Smartphone apps: Most smartphones have built-in step counters in their native health apps. There are also free options like Active 10 from the UK’s National Health Service that focus on tracking brisk walking minutes rather than overall steps.

• Pedometers: Traditional clip-on pedometers are a simple, low-tech option that just counts steps, which can appeal to people who don’t want screens, syncing, or extra features.

No matter which method you choose, tracking your steps can help you reach your goals. In fact, research suggests that people who monitor their steps can increase their daily activity by about 2,500 steps simply by causing people to pay more attention to their movement.

Small changes throughout your day can add up quickly, even if you don’t have time for long walks. For instance, you could:

• Take the stairs, not the elevator: Stairs add steps and increase calorie burn in a short amount of time.

• Park farther from your destination: A little extra walking at the start and end of your errands adds up when you do it on a regular basis.

• Walk during your lunch break: A short post-meal walk can boost your steps.

• Get off the bus or train one stop early: This is an easy way to build walking into your commute.

• Take phone calls while walking: Pacing during calls instead of sitting in one place can add hundreds of steps and can be easily worked into your schedule.

• Walk your dog longer: Extending daily walks can benefit both you and your pet.

• Do household chores actively: Cleaning, organizing, and yard work all count as movement.

• Set hourly movement reminders: Gentle prompts from your smartphone can help break up long periods of sitting.

Get started

Walking is one of the simplest ways to support weight loss, and small increases in daily movement can make a real difference over time. The key is focusing on consistency and finding a step goal that fits your life.

• Most people see weight loss benefits in the range of 7,000 to 10,000 steps per day, depending on their starting activity level and overall health.

• The 10,000-step goal is a helpful benchmark, not a requirement, and many people see meaningful benefits well before that number as they increase their overall physical activity.

• Walking 10,000 steps typically burns about 400–500 calories, though this varies based on factors like body size, walking speed, and terrain (such as hills).

• Tracking your steps can help you increase your daily movement by thousands of steps simply by making activity more visible.

• Walking works best when combined with supportive nutrition habits, resistance training,  and, when appropriate, medical weight loss care, like GLP-1 medications.