You gotta move it, move it

A recent survey on walking behaviour of Indians across four cities reveals that 38 per cent of the people spend time sitting and only 20 per cent devote time to walking

Working India spends majority of its time in a day sitting vis -a -vis walking, reveals Max Bupa Walk for Health Survey 2016. The study on walking behaviour was conducted for over 1,300 Indians across four cities viz. Delhi, Mumbai, Pune and Jaipur that involved working professionals, housewives, students and senior citizens.

Amongst the working population, 38 per cent spends time sitting, while only 20 per cent devote time to walking. Long working hours emerged as the biggest barrier to walking amongst professionals. About 15 per cent of housewives prefer dieting over walking and 12 per cent of them don’t walk because they feel unsafe and insecure.

The survey also revealed pollution as a key deterrent to walking with 16 per cent Indians not walking regularly due to rising pollution levels. Across age groups, Indians in the age bracket of 46-54 years cite pollution as the biggest reason for not walking enough.

Ashish Mehrotra, Managing Director and CEO, Max Bupa said, “Max Bupa Walk for Health Survey 2016 has revealed an alarm­ing reality, that most of the working population in India spends 40 per cent of its time in a day sitting.”

The survey shows that of those who do not walk regularly, 18 per cent suffer from blood pressure, back problems (15 per cent), weak eyesight (14 per cent) and overall weakness (12 per cent). However, majority of respondents (78 per cent) agree that walking helps them guard against lifestyle diseases. Most of the housewives (82 per cent) and working women (92 per cent) respondents believe walking can help combat lifestyle related diseases.

The survey reiterates the multiple health benefits of a simple exercise like walking that Max Bupa has taken upon itself to drive across the country through its first of its kind health initiative, Max Bupa Walk for Health.