Think about this while you sit at your desk or sit in traffic: HOW MANY STEPS DO YOU THINK YOU TAKE IN A DAY?
In a 2004 study of 200 men and women, researchers determined that an average man walks about 7,192 steps per day, while the average woman takes about 5,210 steps per day.
Trust us when Web Watch tells you that those numbers are way above today’s average of around 3,000 steps per day (most likely due to Web Watch and other Internet distractions). If it helps, RECENT GOVERNMENT RECOMMENDATIONS call for a healthy person to be taking 10,000 steps per day – or about 5 miles.
What? You’re not walking 5 miles a day? Apparently, neither are a lot of other people.
However, everyone thinks they are.It should come as no surprise then, to read a study from ENERGIZER BATTERIES entitled THE ENERGIZER REALITY CHECK SURVEY that asked over 1,000 people about their exercise habits, and also provided some with pedometers to provide accuracy in responses.
When asked how many steps they took in an average day, 42% of the respondents took fewer actual steps than what the pedometers showed. 36% overestimated their guess by 4,000 steps… or more. That said, even those participants who underguessed were also significantly off.
Other items of note from the report:
- Of the 90% of Americans who wanted to exercise more, 60% would rather take more walks. 58% said they would like to walk instead of using other transportation. 32% were contemplating going to the gym more
- 58% of Americans were willing to try using a pedometer to monitor their daily activity levels
- 31% believe that there is at least one hour per day when they don’t take a single step.
If you are interested in participating in the Energizer Challenge, then do this:
- Guess how many steps you take in a day.
- Wear a pedometer for a week and see how accurate you are
- Post the results of your challenge at http://www.facebook.com/energizerbunny.