Study: Most Montanans would not walk a mile
Over one third of us would rather take an elevator than walk one flight of stairs.
Half of under 35’s can’t remember when they last ran a mile.
Tech product review company Gear Hungry surveyed 2,200 Americans to find out how many of would not be prepared to walk a mile to get somewhere.
On average, 61 percent of Montana adults – that’s nearly two-thirds of the Treasure State population – would not be prepared to walk a mile, or more, to get somewhere they wanted to go.
They’d far prefer to jump in their car instead of putting one foot in front of the other! The survey also found that on average, the longest Montanans would walk to get somewhere is 20 minutes.
Surprisingly, given how much they love the outdoors, Alaskans appear to be the most lethargic in the U.S. They’d only walk for a maximum of 15 minutes, or 0.8 miles to get somewhere… In the middle of the road (no pun intended) come Wyomingites – who would walk for 0.9 miles (18.6 minutes) before giving up and hailing a cab… The most energetic are the good people of Idaho, where they’d persevere for nearly half an hour (28 minutes) or 1.4 miles, before calling it a day.
To find out how each state compares, check out the infographic: https://www.gearhungry.com/walk-a-mile
It’s no myth that as a nation America struggles with obesity levels. Troubling data from the federal health officials earlier this year showed that in 2016 and 2017 over 40 percent of Americans were obese, a sharp increase from the decade before. Data also showed that the sale of fast food had increased by 22.7 percent between 2012 and 2017.
When broken down by gender, women appeared to be a bit lazier then men, with 5 percent fewer ladies prepared to walk the mile. And the weather, unsurprisingly, is a big factor: over half (52 percent) of respondents said they would be completely put off walking somewhere if it was raining. 34 percent would drive where they wanted to go instead, but a resilient 18 percent said they would wait until the rain had stopped, then walk anyway.
Americans’ response to exercise didn’t reflect well on the nation, according to the survey. Given the choice, it found 35 percent of us would rather use an elevator than walk up just one flight of stairs. And nearly a third (30 percent) say they regularly avoid doing any exercise altogether.
We’re pretty good at coming up with excuses, too! Despite powerhouse Beyoncé having the same 24 hours in a day as the rest of us, a staggering 77 percent of respondents say they are too busy to do exercise and 74 percent say they are too busy to eat healthily. And worryingly, over one in ten adults admitted that they would not do more exercise even if their lives depended on it!
Forty-five percent of under 35’s admitted that they cannot remember the last time they ran a mile or more. And, finally, the survey discovered that when on a health kick, people only managed to last just 7.8 days before being defeated and succumbing to fast food.
‘It’s not always easy to fit exercise into our busy schedules.’ says Jordan Carter from Gear Hungry. ‘Increasing our steps each day is a good way to fit in more active time into our days. There are plenty of great fitness trackers out there which will help you monitor your daily activity levels and really help to keep you motivated.’