10,000 daily steps was a marketing ploy: Do you really need to hit it?

(NEXSTAR) — For years, we’ve been advised and encouraged to take 10,000 steps a day. Or maybe it was 5,000. Or maybe, you heard even fewer, like 2,500. 

Between the conflicting numbers and reminders from your fitness tracker to take more steps to reach your goal (that you probably didn’t set), it can be more confusing than you ever thought taking a walk should be.

Let’s start with the largest goal of them all: 10,000 steps a day. If you work in a field where you’re on your feet much of the day...