Tracking daily step counts can be a useful tool for weight management – an exercise scientist parses the science

Cole Lloyd · 2025-05-14T08:37:28Z

Over the last decade, smartphones have become ubiquitous not just for sending texts and staying abreast of news, but also for monitoring daily activity levels.Among the most common, and arguably the most meaningful, tracking method for daily physical activity is step counting.Counting steps is far more than a fad: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services dedicated a sizable portion of its most recent physical activity guidelines to documenting the relationship between daily step counts and several chronic diseases.Unfortunately, the guidelines have little to say about how step counts might be used to aid in weight management, an outcome of critical importance given the high rates of overweight and obesity in the U.S.In the early 1980s, fewer than 14% of adults in the U.S. were classified as having obesity. Today, just over 40 years later, the prevalence of obesity is greater than 40% in the adult population, and current trends suggest that almost half of adults in the U.S. will be obese by 2030.I am a professor of exercise science at Kennesaw State University, and our lab has been conducting studies examining relationships among step counts and a number of health outcomes.While the evidence is clear that increasing numbers of adults are living in a chronic energy surplus that leads to weight gain, a key question is – why? What has changed so dramatically since 1980 that could explain why obesity rates have tripled?

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Alicia Potter

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today”s workout was a total grind but i still hit my numbers

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Posted : 04/01/2026 8:37 am

Johnny Pollard

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today”s workout was a total grind but i still hit my numbers

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Posted : 05/01/2026 2:37 am

Gary Evans

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adding 10 minutes of daily posing practice to the log starting today

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Posted : 11/02/2026 3:37 pm

Sarah Bean

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feeling a bit flat today but staying the course with the diet

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Posted : 12/02/2026 9:37 am

Ben Harrison

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forced myself to take a rest day today: recovery is just as important

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Posted : 12/02/2026 3:37 pm

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