The Kraft Active Step Index, launched by Kraft Foods, revealed that site supervisors walked an average of 8,528 steps and ranked the highest, while travel agents ranked the lowest, taking about 1,818 steps.

Last week, 100 men and women from 30 different occupations, ranging from doctors to receptionists, participated in the Kraft Active Walk Your Way to Better Health Challenge by Kraft Cheese.

Armed with pedometers, these volunteers went about their usual professional lives, recording the total number of steps they took each day over a five-day period.

Research indicates that 10,000 steps per day is the ideal minimum. Equivalent to 30 minutes of physical activity and approximately 5 miles, it is the ideal amount of exertion the body requires to burn up to 400 calories per day.

The index revealed that between 9am to 5pm, working people take an approximate daily average of only 4,114 steps…less than half the recommended daily average of 10,000 steps.

Of the 30 occupations studied, site supervisors ranked the highest, with an average of 8,528 steps in a day over five days. Next in line were wait staff and sales people who log an approximate daily average of 5,844 and 5,121 steps respectively. Travel agents ranked the lowest, taking approximately 1,818 steps per day in a typical nine to five routine.
 
The challenge, which rolled out in conjunction with the launch of the new higher protein and lower fat Kraft Cream Cheese Spread Active, aims to get people from all walks of life, including teens and children, feeling a little 'Hayawiya', Arabic for active. The answer, according to Kraft Cheese, is in walking.

“By simply being conscious of the number of steps we take each day as we go about our daily lives, we become aware of the innate desire within us to care for our well being,” said Ahmed Yahya marketing director GCC, Kraft Foods Middle East and Africa.
 
“Families are today more aware of the need to care for their overall well being and vitality, and they are also increasingly savvy about the ways in which to enhance their wellness,” concluded Yahya.-TradeArabia News Service