Activity inequality' could be one of the biggest factors in obesity

Aglobalstudy by Stanford University researchers involving hundreds of thousands of smartphone users found a new public health risk for obesity: "activity inequality."The Stanford Universitystudy, publishedin "Nature," found that in countries with a wider activity inequality gapwhere some people walk much more than othersobesity tends to be more prevalent. Alternatively, in countries where people tend to walk the same amount of stepsleading to a small activity inequality gapobesity levels were found to be low."If you think about some people in a country as 'activity rich' and others as 'activity poor,' the size of the gap between them is a strong indicator of obesity levels in that society," Scott Delp, a lead researcher on the studyand bioengineer, said in TheStanford News.Researchers tracked the steps of717,000 women and men from 111 countries for roughly95 days each with the ARGUS smartphone app. Data was anonymous, aside from key health indicatorslike height, weight, age and gender.According to Stanford News, the study also revealed new information about gender in relation to obesity trends. Researchers found men walk on average more than women, meaning that "whenactivity inequality is greatest, womens activity is reduced much more dramatically than mens activity, and thus the negative connections to obesity can affect women more greatly," Jure Leskovec, a lead researcher on the study andcomputer scientist, told The Stanford News.Studies have found getting enough physical activity can reduce your risk for certain diseases.The map below shows average steps per country, based on the data from the study:SEE ALSO:The 7 best science-backed fitness appsDON'T MISS:You're no more active as a teenager than you will be at 60, according to a new studyJoin the conversation about this storyNOW WATCH: The best time to eat carbohydratesso that your body uses them up instead of storing them as fat
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