Taking 10 thousand steps a day, the true story of an advertising slogan that has endured for 60 years. Despite the denials

It is arguably one of the most effective advertising claims ever, given that it has been self-feeding for almost 60 years without most of us knowing where it comes from. The famous 10,000 steps a day to stay healthy – the recommended mantra for an active lifestyle and set as an automatic goal in smartwatches – is actually an arbitrary metric that comes from a 1960s marketing gimmick.