The more places you visit each day -- such as when you're shopping or running errands -- the higher your step counts, a new study suggests.
The study, published in the September/October 2022 issue of Geriatric Nursing, tracked 133 older adults in Japan (average age 73, two-thirds women) over 14 days using GPS sensors and accelerometers. Participants visited an average of 2.5 places each day, spending an average of 3.5 hours outside their homes while doing so. Each additional place visited equated to an additional 1,324 steps taken that day. Out-of-home time by itself didn't appear to influence step counts.
While more than 90% of the people in the study drove a car during their daily lives, adding destinations likely led to an overall increase in physical activity, according to researchers. They said the results suggest that the number of places we go each day is a potentially important contributor to healthier habits.
This article was originally published by Harvard Women's Health Watch.
