Cellphone data from hundreds of thousands of people around the world shows that Indonesians actually walk the least. Is it true that you are lazy, or are there other factors that influence it? These findings are the result of a study conducted by researchers at Stanford University, United States.
Researchers at the university analyzed minute-by-minute data on about 717,000 people from 111 countries who used the Argus app, an application that can log users’ steps, for approximately 95 days.
The results of the study, published in the journal Nature (10/7), suggest that Hong Kong residents occupy first place on the list of people who walk the most. They walk an average of 6,880 steps per day. Meanwhile, the people who are lazy to walk are Indonesians, who only walk 3,513 steps every day.
Quoted from the BBC, Scott Dep, a professor in the field of biotechnics and one of the researchers said that this study is 1,000 times larger than studies on human movement that have been there before.
“There have been many surveys on health with extraordinary results,” he explained. “But our latest research presents data from more countries, more subjects and tracks people’s activities on an ongoing basis. This research also opens new avenues of scientific research on a much larger scale than we’ve ever done before.”
This research also provides important insights for improving public health. The Daily Mail website reports that the average number of daily steps is 4,961 or four kilometers. However, it turns out that the number of daily steps does not really affect a country’s obesity rate.
By exploring several factors, such as activity inequality, the experts also examined the level of obesity in the population. They found that the greater the activity inequality, the higher the obesity rate. Between residents who are diligent in doing activities or moving with those who are lazy.
Quoted from the BBC Indonesia website, one of the researchers, Tim Althoff, gave an example of Sweden. The country is one country with a narrow gap in activity. “Sweden is a country with a low obesity rate,” explained the Team.
Experts have also found that the activity gap is largely driven by gender differences. For example, in Japan, which has low rates of obesity and inequality, men and women exercise to the same degree. Meanwhile, in countries with high levels of inequality, such as the United States and Saudi Arabia, women are less active.
Another factor studied is infrastructure. Research with has a good and adequate pedestrian, has a greater number of pedestrians. The researchers say the findings could help design urban development for greater physical activity.
Why are Indonesians lazy to walk?
Of course this is not without cause. In fact, public awareness of the importance of physical activity to maintain and improve health has increased. It turns out that there are several causes for the laziness of Indonesians, especially in big cities like Jakarta, to walk, as reported by Detik.
Bad sidewalks or pedestrian facilities are one reason. The large number of excavations that cause damage to sidewalks, competing with street food stalls or competing with two-wheeled vehicles riding on them are also causes of discomfort walking on the sidewalks.
There is no adequate public transportation, hot weather and pollution are also the causes of Indonesia’s population to lack of physical activity on foot. Another most important factor is safety. The high level of crime in public vehicles and on the roads has made people lazy to leave their private vehicles.
Meanwhile, for many women, rampant sexual harassment, ranging from whistling or catcalling to touching body parts, which occurs on the streets and in public places, makes them not lazy but afraid to walk.
Source : beritagar
