USA, Sept 1 – If you’ve ever wondered which country leads the way in terms of staying fit each day, your queries have been answered.
Smartphone data from more than 700,000 people has been collated by scientists to show just how active different parts of the world are.
And residents of Hong Kong can proudly claim to be the fittest, walking an average of 6,880 steps each day – the equivalent to around three-and-a-half miles (6km).
But those living in Indonesia appear to be the laziest, managing just 3,513, according to Stanford University researchers.
By comparison, Britons walk 5,444 steps on a daily basis, less than three miles (5km), tipping their US counterparts who manage just 4,774.
Scott Delp, a professor of bioengineeering behind the findings, told the BBC: ‘The study is 1,000 times larger than any previous study on human movement.
‘There have been wonderful health surveys done, but our new study provides data from more countries, many more subjects, and tracks people’s activity on an ongoing basis.
‘This opens the door to new ways of doing science at a much larger scale than we have been able to do before.’
On average, the number of daily steps taken was 4,961 – two-and-a-half miles (4km), according to the research published in the journal Nature.
But many countries, including Canada, Australia, New Zealand, also fell below the standard estimated amount.
Experts say the overall findings, which delved into multiple factors such as ‘activity inequality’ and obesity rates in 46 countries, could help tackle bulging waistlines.
-DailyMail
