Interesting Facts About Walking That You May Not Know

by | Oct 2, 2023 | Blog, Walking

Walking is a past-time carried out by all manor of people from all over the world, meaning that although we all have in common the love to get out and about for a hike, we all have very different experiences when we are out walking. Different terrains, different wildlife, different climates, and many other factors make our walking trips entirely unique to us. We’ve pulled together some fun and interesting facts about walking from all over the world and hope that you enjoy reading them and find that you can relate to some.

 

1. The longest walk around the world was completed by a former neon-sign salesman, Jean Beliveau. He walked 46,600 miles around 64 countries. The trip took him 11 years

 

2. We all know that the recommended steps to take per day are 10,000 so how do countries compare? The average Australian takes 9695 steps per day, the average Japanese takes 7168; the average Swiss 9650; and the average American just 5117. Does anybody know how many the average person in the UK takes? Let us know in the comments below!

 

3. Given that the world is about 25,000 miles in circumference and that the average walking rate is 3 miles per hour, it would take a person walking nonstop approximately 347 days to walk around the world

 

4. In China, Fiji Islands, and New Zealand fire walking still takes place. This is a religious ceremony where people walk over hot stones or embers with bare feet. It also used to be practiced in ancient Greece and India. Ouch!

 

5. It would take on average, 1 hour and 43 minutes of walking to burn off a 540-calorie Big Mac, say no to the golden arches!

 

6. Scientists believe that humans started walking on two legs around three to six million years ago to use energy more efficiently.

 

7. The best way to lose weight by walking is to take a longer, moderately paced walk of about 40 minutes. Shorter, faster walks say 20-25 minutes are best for conditioning the heart and lungs.

 

8. Sleepwalking is called somnambulism and about 18% of the world suffers from it.

 

9. Walking can help decrease the risk of heart attack, decrease the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, and even reduce the risk of bone fracture. Additionally, brisk walking can reduce stress and depression levels as well as improve cancer survival rates

 

10. Walking briskly for one mile in 15 minutes burns approximately the same amount of calories as jogging an equal distance in 8.5 minutes

 

Happy walking everybody, hope these facts about walking give you some motivation to get out and about this weekend!

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