A new US research study shows that uou should be taking 100 steps each minute for half an hour a day if you want to achieve "moderate" exercise by walking.

Researchers at the San Diego State University based their conclusions on exercise tests given to 97 healthy adults who had an average age of 32.  In general, men needed to walk at a pace of 92 to 102 steps per minute on a treadmill to achieve a moderately intense workout for their hearts, based on the recorded oxygen consumption . The range for women was between 91 and 115 steps per minute.

1000 steps in 10 minutes

Simon Marshall, the lead research in the San Diego State University study, said that exercisers should start with 10 minutes of moderate exercise per day *, recording 1000 steps in that time, and aim to build this up to 30 minutes **, or 3000 steps over time.

* The minimum amount of moderate level exercise needed to improve the health and fitness levels of an individual not usually used to exercise.

** Both UK and US government health guidelines suggest that individuals should aim to complete at least 30 minutes of moderate intensity 5 times per week.

The power of the pedometer

The research project also threw up doubts about the effectiveness of pedometers - the small lightweight gizmo used to record stepswhen walking.

As pedometers couldn\\\'t record the intensity of exercise the San Diego State University research team suggested that pedometers are only useful to make sure walkers hit their target of 1000 steps in 10 minutes.