A recent health survey shows that Hong Kong has the most active population in the whole world. Statistics were gathered through the use of smartphone data that calculated the amount of steps taken by over 700,000 people.
According to a Stanford University survey published in the Journal Nature, the average amount of steps taken by Hong Kong residents is a whopping 6,880 steps. This amount is followed by China, coming in at second place with an estimated citizen step average of 6,189 steps.
On the contrary, another Asian country is being labeled as the world’s laziest. The survey revealed Indonesia to be at the bottom of the list, with its citizens taking a meager amount of 3,513 steps on average. With that said, it appears that not all Asian countries have an active population after all.
The third most fit and active country is Japan, followed by Spain, the U.K. and the U.S., respectively. It’s also worth noting that this health survey is considered to be the most wide-scale health statistic ever recorded in regards to the study of human movement. This makes the reading much more accurate than the previously recorded surveys.
According to the BBC, there are numerous factors to consider when it comes to determining how active a country’s population really is. For instance, the amount of activity in a certain country will vary depending on the number of male and female citizens in its population.
Researchers explained that the amount of activity in a country is “largely driven” by gender. This case is evident in countries such as the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, where women are less-likely to be active than men.
Another factor revealed by the health survey is that of a country’s “walkability rate.” Cities that are more catering to pedestrians are most likely to have more active citizens.
On the other hand, cities in the U.S. such as Houston and Memphis are known to have a “low walkability” rate. This means it is a lot harder to get around the city without the aid of cars, which naturally translates to less active people.
It’s safe to say that a country’s fitness and activity isn’t necessarily race specific since the amount of active people will rely heavily on a country’s demographic and geology instead. This goes without saying that the easier and more convenient pedestrian facilities become, the more active the country’s population will be.
