The 10,000-step myth
The 10,000-step target was a marketing slogan for the “Manpo-kei” (literally “10,000 steps meter”) pedometer launched in Japan in 1965 — not a clinical recommendation. A 2023 European Journal of Preventive Cardiology meta-analysis of 226,889 people found cardiovascular mortality benefit beginning at around 2,300 steps per day and continuing to drop through ~8,800 steps; the benefit then flattens. The bottom line: more is better up to a point, but you don’t need to hit 10,000.
How accurate is height-based stride?
Within roughly ±10% for typical adults walking on flat ground in normal shoes. Stride shortens at slow paces, lengthens at faster ones, varies with terrain and footwear, and changes with fatigue. The override field lets you plug in a measured stride for a tighter result.
Calibrating your stride
The simplest method: mark out 20 metres on flat ground (a tennis court is 23.77 m baseline-to-baseline; a hockey-rink centre red line to blue line is 7.92 m). Walk it normally, count your steps, divide 2000 cm by the count. Use that number in the override field every time.