Hello everyone. This is Fujii from NEULO.
This time, I've compiled information on the importance of "walking" based on several sources.
For me personally, the COVID-19 pandemic was what sparked my awareness of the importance of "walking." Opportunities to go outside decreased, and I spent more time at home. As a result, I felt my body, and even my mood, gradually becoming heavier.
What particularly left an impression on me was the change in my grandmother's physical condition as she began to refrain from going out. With fewer opportunities to walk, she seemed to weaken more rapidly than before.
Of course, it's not easy to say that was the only cause. However, many people during that period must have felt some anxiety about becoming less active and about not going outside.
Intuitively, we understand that going out and walking is important.
But what does it actually mean?
Why is "walking" important for humans?
Since this is the first article, I've tried to organize my thoughts on "walking."
Why have humans stopped walking?
We wake up in the morning and sit in a chair. We take the train. We get to work and do desk work. We return home and sit on the sofa. When we're hungry, we order food with Uber, and we do our shopping on Amazon.
We modern humans live in an era where we can survive without walking much.
On the other hand, humanity has evolved with walking as a prerequisite.
For millions of years, humans lived by hunting and gathering, searching for food, seeking water, and moving with their companions. Of course, there were no trains or cars, and they continued to walk as a means of survival.
However, technological advancements have significantly changed human lifestyles. We can work remotely without moving. We can shop without going outside. We can have meetings online without meeting in person.
Even looking at the technological innovations of the past few years, with advancements in autonomous driving technology and online tools, the world is increasingly changing to one where we can live without walking.
We were originally creatures that walked much more
How much less do we walk compared to the era of hunter-gatherers?
To address this theme, there has been research focusing on the Hadza people, a hunter-gatherer group in Tanzania. The Hadza are a minority ethnic group living around Lake Eyasi in northern Tanzania, and hunting and gathering remain their primary livelihood today. They do not rely on agriculture or livestock, but rather live by collecting and hunting wild animals and plants, making their lifestyle considered the closest to that of humans before agriculture.
According to Wood et al. (2021), Hadza adult males travel approximately 12.9 km per day, and females 7.6 km, estimated to walk between 10,000 and 18,000 steps daily. This suggests that during the era when hunting and gathering were necessary, walking over 10,000 steps per day was likely the norm for humans.
In contrast, a study by Stanford University analyzing smartphone data from 111 countries, approximately 720,000 people, and 68 million days, found that the average number of steps for modern humans was 4,961 steps.
While these figures cannot be directly compared, it's possible that through evolution, we have significantly reduced our activity levels compared to what was normal for humanity.
What we lose by not walking. What we gain by walking.
What are we losing by not walking? And what are we gaining by walking?
According to a review by Battista et al. (2025), physical inactivity and prolonged sedentary behavior are deeply related to the progression of sarcopenia* (decrease in muscle mass and strength) and frailty (weakening of mind and body). As muscles weaken, movement becomes bothersome, and opportunities to go out decrease. Opportunities to meet people and experience new stimuli also decrease. And activity levels decline further. In severe cases, this can lead to a negative spiral.
Furthermore, the risk of sarcopenia due to not walking is not limited to the elderly.
A study by Li et al. (2025) targeting individuals aged 18-59 found that for every hour increase in sedentary time, the risk of sarcopenia increased by 5%. However, it also found that for every hour increase in physical activity, the risk decreased by 6%.
So, what else can be gained from walking besides "health"? There are various benefits, but one important one is "creativity."
Research conducted at Stanford University showed that creative thinking scores while walking improved by approximately 60% compared to sitting. The effect on "divergent thinking" (the ability to generate diverse ideas from a single theme) was particularly pronounced.
Beyond the content of papers and books, listening to those who prioritize walking in their daily lives, I feel that not only does walking promote blood circulation and activate the brain, but the increased exposure to new things fosters sensitivity and leads to enhanced creativity.
*Sarcopenia: Muscle mass adequacy evaluated using the ratio of appendicular skeletal muscle mass (ASM) to body mass index (BMI). Sarcopenia is assessed when the ASM/BMI ratio is less than 0.512 for women and less than 0.789 for men (Li et al., 2025).
The reason an 84-year-old architect still walks
In considering "walking," I learned something from one of the people I respect most, Tadao Ando.
Tadao Ando, a self-taught architect who transitioned from professional boxer, has designed numerous iconic works both domestically and internationally, and is one of Japan's leading architects, having received the Pritzker Prize, often called the Nobel Prize of architecture. Many people living in the Kanto region might have experienced Ando's work through "Omotesando Hills."
As mentioned, Ando is an extraordinary architect who became an architect through self-study without attending university, after being a professional boxer. In his books, Ando describes learning architecture by walking through Europe for seven months in his youth. I believe he cultivated his sensibility by physically walking and experiencing cities firsthand, including their architecture and human movement.
— "Through my own body, I learned about climate, cities, and architecture. As I sketched, my hands remembered them." (Tadao Ando) —
Ando also suffered from cancer at two major points, at ages 68 and 73, and had all "five organs" (referring to the five major organs) removed. Despite such difficult periods, he remains active on the front lines at 84, a habit supported by walking "10,000 steps a day." Of course, "walking" alone may not be the only factor in his continued success, but after reviewing various interviews, it's clear that "walking" is undoubtedly one of the things supporting Ando's life.
I read Ando's books in high school when I aspired to be an architect. Although I didn't become an architect, learning Ando's philosophy and experiencing the world that opened up by "seeing" actual things while walking was profound.
I want to strive at NEULO to deliver the kind of footwear that allows people to continue seeing such a world, no matter their age, to those who have supported me throughout my life and to everyone I will meet in the future.
Next time, we plan a more casual journal that will answer the question, "Seriously, how many steps should I walk?"
Also, if you have any questions you encounter in daily life or problems you want to solve, feel free to contact us with "walking" or "feet" as the theme!
We will answer individually or address it as a theme in our journal.
References
Wood, B. M., Harris, J. A., Raichlen, D. A., Pontzer, H., Sayre, K., Sancilio, A., Berbesque, C., Crittenden, A. N., Mabulla, A., McElreath, R., Cashdan, E., & Jones, J. H. (2021). Gendered movement ecology and landscape use in Hadza hunter-gatherers. Nature Human Behaviour, 5(4), 436–446. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-020-01002-7
Althoff, T., Sosič, R., Hicks, J. L., King, A. C., Delp, S. L., & Leskovec, J. (2017). Large-scale physical activity data reveal worldwide activity inequality. Nature, 547, 336–339. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature23018
Battista, F., et al. (2025). Sedentary lifestyle and physical inactivity: A mutual interplay with early and overt frailty. Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.numecd.2025.103971
Li, Z., Yang, J., Yang, J., Liu, S., Guo, X., & Cui, Z. (2025). Impact of physical activity patterns and sedentary behavior on sarcopenia prevalence among adults aged 18 to 59: A cross-sectional study from NHANES. Medicine, 104(36), e44312. https://doi.org/10.1097/MD.0000000000044312
Oppezzo, M., & Schwartz, D. L. (2014). Give your ideas some legs: The positive effect of walking on creative thinking. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 40(4), 1142–1152. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0036577
Ando, Tadao. (2010). 『歩きながら考えよう―建築も、人生も』 [Let's Think While Walking—Architecture and Life]. PHP Institute.
Ando, Tadao. (2012). 『仕事をつくる―私の履歴書』 [Creating Work—My Resume]. Nikkei Publishing.
Yomiuri Shimbun Online. (2023). 「病気になっても、人生は終わらない―建築家・安藤忠雄さん」 [Even if you get sick, life doesn't end—Architect Tadao Ando]. https://www.yomiuri.co.jp/
