Women walk 1,000 fewer steps a day than men do

WOMEN are risking their health by walking around 1,000 fewer steps every day than men, say experts.

Child care, housework and embarrassment have been blamed for women failing to exercise in Britain.

Most people with tracking devices such as Fitbits set themselves a daily target of 10,000 steps, but women achieve less than half of this.

A study using smartphone ‘accelerometers’ that automatically record stepping motions found that women manage only 4,908 steps on average a day, while men rack up 5,982.

Experts are calling on women to close the gender gap to avoid putting on weight in later life, which can lead to heart disease and stroke.

Lucy Wilkinson, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, said: ‘We know women do less physical activity than men as looking after their home and children can leave them with less time to exercise.

‘Women tell us they are self-conscious about exercising, and we know they are less keen to get into gym clothing and exercise with people they feel are in better shape. But taking more steps in a day can help maintain a healthy weight, reduce cholesterol and blood pressure, while doing fewer can raise the risk of cardiovascular disease. We want women to incorporate physical activity such as walking into their daily lives.’

The study by Stanford University in the US, published in the journal Nature, took fitness readings from people in 111 countries, including 55,110 in the UK.

In the 46 countries with detailed results, the UK falls within the top ten for obesity, which is a particular risk to women who do not walk enough, the authors warn.

Women are 36 per cent more likely to be considered physically inactive than men in Britain, with around 11.8 million failing to get the recommended 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise a week. Stanford’s Dr Jure Leskovec, who led the study, said: ‘When activity inequality is greatest, women’s activity is reduced much more dramatically than men’s activity, and thus the negative connections to obesity can affect women more greatly.’

The study found a gender gap between activity levels in a country usually coincides with higher levels of obesity. Lead author Tim Althoff said: ‘Sweden had the smallest disparity between male and female steps. It also had one of the lowest rates of obesity.’

The UK, with a large gender gap, has a higher rate of obesity. Women who take the fewest steps have a more than 200 per cent increased risk of being obese compared to those who move the most.