average steps - 10 professions

[~reneew]

I found a magazine article from a prevention magazine about daily steps taken for 10 professionals. I know that there are a million walking articles out there, but this one had statistics that were very interesting. It lists jobs and the steps walked per day:

Mail carrier 18,904
Full-time-Mom 16,791
Custodian 12,991
Resteraunt server 10,087
Factory worker 9,892
Construction worker 9,646
Nurse 8,648
police officer 5,336
Lawyer 5,062
Teacher 4,726
Secretary 4,327

[wosnes]

I can vouch for how many steps a nurse takes. The number they give was on the low side for me at my last job, and I estimate that the number of steps I took there was lower than at some previous jobs. In addition, I walked for exercise daily. Simple things like that make a HUGE difference.

Or, you could be an Amish person:

From the May 2004 Vegetarian Times

Don’t be surprised if the new exercise craze involves buggy whips and barn raisings. A study of an Amish community, published in the January 2004 Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, found that Amish farmers and their wives, who live much as their ancestors did 150 years ago, eat a diet that “is quite high in fat and refined sugar†but have an obesity rate of only 4 percent, compared to 15 percent in the general population of Canada and 31 percent in the United States. The secret? The Amish have a much higher level of physical activity. The study, which equipped 98 Amish adults with pedometers, found that they take many more steps than non-Amish do, burning calories without setting foot in a gym. One farmer, plowing fields behind a team of horses, took 51,000 steps in one day—compared to 2,000–3,000 that the average US office worker takes. “The Amish are lean because they easily do six times more physical activity than people living in the modern society that surrounds them,†says lead author David R. Bassett, Jr., PhD, a University of Tennessee professor of exercise science

From the June, 2004 Cooking Light

We knew modern society was less active than the generations past, but a new study demonstrates just how much. Researchers measured the steps of 98 Amish adults with pedometers and found men took an average of 18,425 steps a day, which equals 9 or 10 miles, and women took 14,196, almost 7 miles. Compare that to about 4,000 steps -- about 2 miles -- for the average American adult, and it's easy to see why only 4 percent of Amish adults are obese, versus 31 percent of the general population. And the Amish in the study weren't nutrition all-stars -- their diets were high in calories, fat and refined sugar.
The difference between the Amish and other Americans, says David R. Bassett, Ph.D., professor at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville and lead researcher for the study, is how we view physical activity. "The Amish do 'work,' while we do 'exercise,'" he says. The daily lives of the Amish, defined by 19th century farming techniques, plus gardening, cooking and childcare, require physical activity. But technology has taken away our everyday opportunities for movement.
While most of us can't expect to match the daily level of the Amish, we should look for ways to integrate exercise into our daily lives, Bassett says. Even such things as taking the stairs instead of the elevator, walking and starting a vegetable garden can help," he says.

And from Reinhard:
http://www.urbanranger.com/group/4.html

[midtownfg]

I really wanted to write how this inspires me to go work on my garden after work instead of going to the gym. But it is almost 100 degrees outside. I feel like a pansy.

As an office worker, it is really pathetic how little I walk in a day. I have been trying to remember to take the long way back to my office after a restroom break and finding other ways to work in more steps but it is hard to fit it into the "work" day. Even more pathetic is how little I walk at home. Even in a 3 story house, I somehow manage to walk less than 800 steps some days when I don't go out.

[wosnes]

I really wanted to write how this inspires me to go work on my garden after work instead of going to the gym. But it is almost 100 degrees outside. I feel like a pansy.

There's no way I'm spending much time outdoors when it gets that warm -- especially if it's humid, too (and I'm sure it is in Houston). I've been taking the dog for walks early in the AM and late in the PM. It's not quite so bad then. Although, this week it's unseasonably cool.

[mimi]

Very interesting Renee! The average steps for a teacher might be just a little low in my circumstances...I wore a pedometer from Christmas until the end of the year to see what my daily steps were like. Granted I also had 20 minutes of treadmill or glider exercise in the morning, but by evening time I averaged around 8-9,000 steps. The only way I broke 10,000 steps was to go grocery shopping!
I know the steps for a full-time mom are right on - probably more depending on how many children she has - and their ages!

Mimi

[bonnieUK]

My sister is a midwife in a busy hospital, she sometimes wears a pedometer, one time she told me she did 8 miles in one long night shift (it's a big hospital) I don't know how many steps that is though.

[reinhard]

Interesting, but these all sound pretty high compared with the 4000 national average in the Amish article.

Different methodologies I guess? I'm assuming they didn't intentionally leave out the most sluggish professions (where's computer programmer?).

Reinhard

[wosnes]

My sister is a midwife in a busy hospital, she sometimes wears a pedometer, one time she told me she did 8 miles in one long night shift (it's a big hospital) I don't know how many steps that is though.

Depending on the length of your step, between 16,000 and 20,000 steps.

[~reneew]

In college I worked as a nursing assistant and walked the entire time... I was thin then.

[Bushranger]

Have to be wary of the pedometer itself. I had a cheap one once and it registered anything from 3-20 steps every time I did almost any movement at all that wasn't just a normal step. Pick up a bag - 12 steps, sneeze - 6 steps, etc. It was an el cheapo model though that I got with $2 and a coupon out of the paper I have had people report that even the more expensive ones do the same thing though so that's something to keep an eye on. Luckily it's easy to test for.

[~reneew]

There was a thread about pedometers a little while ago... I'll see if I can find it... I can't find it. We were discussing pedometers and which ones are good. I think mine's an omron and I works great. I actually counted for a long time to check accuracy. It was right on! Long walks and around the house. Mine doesn't seem to go up at all if I'm just sitting and moving... I put it in my pocket, so it is more stable when I'm sitting.