Walking At Work Survey Reveals Surprise
Illawarra Mercury
Wednesday December 3, 2003
WITH walking a standard feature of his outdoor job, gardener David Bartlett thought he was a shoo-in for hitting the recommended 10,000 steps in a day.
However, much to his surprise, the 25-year-old missed the mark by more than 4000 steps over two days when he participated in the Heart Foundation's How Active At Work? study.
For two working days Mr Bartlett's movements were monitored by a Heart Foundation pedometer which was clipped onto his waistband to measure steps taken, distance travelled and calories burnt.
In total he took 8835 steps on day one and 6455 steps on day two - a tally much less than the Wollongong City Council employee had anticipated.
The Illawarra-based survey found blue-collar workers had an average of 8808 steps in a working day which was double the 4147 steps averaged by white-collar workers.
There were 165 participants in the survey which was aimed at encouraging workers to partake in extra activities to reach the daily target of 10,000 steps and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Mr Bartlett, who did not peek at the pedometer while he was wearing it, said he expected his result to be higher as he walked everywhere in his job.
The Barrack Heights man said unlike many other gardeners for the council, he and his workmates at the Keira St depot walked to their daily tasks which centre around MacCabe Park, the Crown St Mall and lower Wollongong.
How Active at Work? Results highlights:
Study involved 165 volunteers, 79 men and 86 women
Men average 7165 steps a day
Women average 3794 steps a day
Lowest recorded: driver with 97 steps a day
Highest: a street sweeper with 33,295 steps a day
It's estimated 43 per cent of the population do not undertake enough physical activity to reach the levels recommended for health benefits.
Some of the occupations surveyed:
Cleaner - 17,301, labourer - 11,363, mechanic - 11,016, boilermaker - 10,551, gardener - 9093, customer service - 5778, manager - 3251, community nurse - 3049, administration officer - 2138, health worker - 2109.
© 2003 Illawarra Mercury