美國的科學(xué)家們從人們的智能手機中收集了海量數(shù)據(jù),用來研究人們的實際活動情況。
The Stanford University analysis of 68 million days' worth of minute-by-minute data showed the average number of daily steps was 4,961.
斯坦福大學(xué)對精確到分鐘、總時長相當于6800天的數(shù)據(jù)進行分析后發(fā)現(xiàn),世界各地的人們平均每天走路4961步。
China was top averaging more than 6,000 a day, while Indonesia was bottom of the rankings with just 3,513.
中國人平均每天走6000多步,排名居首,而印度尼西亞人平均每天走3513步,在排名中墊底。
But the findings also uncovered intriguing details that could help tackle obesity.
研究結(jié)果還揭露了一些有趣的細節(jié),有助于我們對抗肥胖。
Most smartphones have a built-in accelerometer that can record steps and the researchers used anonymous data from more than 700,000 people who used the Argus activity monitoring app.
大多數(shù)智能手機都有內(nèi)置的加速計,可以記錄行走步數(shù),研究者們還使用了70多萬人在活動監(jiān)測軟件Argus上的匿名數(shù)據(jù)。
Scott Delp, a professor of bioengineering and one of the researchers, said: "The study is 1,000 times larger than any previous study on human movement.
參與此項研究的生物工程教授斯科特•德爾普說:“這項研究比以往任何一項關(guān)于人類運動的研究在規(guī)模上都要大上1000倍。”
Activity inequality
活動不均等
The findings have been published in the journal Nature and the study authors say the results give important insights for improving people's health.
研究結(jié)果發(fā)表在《自然》雜志上,作者們認為研究結(jié)果在改善人類健康方面有重大啟示。
The average number of steps in a country appears to be less important for obesity levels, for example.
比如,一個國家的平均走路步數(shù)對肥胖水平來說似乎沒有那么重要。
The key ingredient was "activity inequality" - it's like wealth inequality, except instead of the difference between rich and poor, it's the difference between the fittest and laziest.
關(guān)鍵的因素是“活動不均等”,就像財富不均等一樣,只是活動不均等指的是最健康和最懶的人之間的差距,而非富人和窮人間的差距。
The bigger the activity inequality, the higher the rates of obesity.
活動越不均等,肥胖的比例就越高。
Tim Althoff, one of the researchers, said: "For instance, Sweden had one of the smallest gaps between activity rich and activity poor... it also had one of the lowest rates of obesity."
研究者蒂姆•阿爾托夫表示:“舉例來說,瑞典愛運動和不愛運動的人之間的差距最小……同時也是肥胖率最低的國家之一。”
The United States and Mexico both have similar average steps, but the US has higher activity inequality and obesity levels.
美國和墨西哥平均走路步數(shù)相似,但美國活動不均等的程度和肥胖率都更高。
The researchers were surprised that activity inequality was largely driven by differences between men and women.
研究者還驚訝地發(fā)現(xiàn),活動不均等的程度與男女差異有很大的關(guān)聯(lián)。
In countries like Japan - with low obesity and low inequality - men and women exercised to similar degrees.
比如,日本的肥胖率和活動不均等程度都較低,男性和女性鍛煉的頻率接近。
But in countries with high inequality, like the US and Saudi Arabia, it was women spending less time being active.
而在美國和沙特阿拉伯這些活動不均等程度較高的國家,女性往往花更少時間鍛煉。
Jure Leskovec, also part of the research team, said: "When activity inequality is greatest, women's activity is reduced much more dramatically than men's activity, and thus the negative connections to obesity can affect women more greatly."
研究者卓爾•萊斯科夫認為:“當活動不均等最嚴重的時候,女性鍛煉比男性要少得多,因此女性受到肥胖的影響要比男性更大。”
The Stanford team say the findings help explain global patterns of obesity and give new ideas for tackling it.
斯坦福大學(xué)的研究小組認為,研究結(jié)果還有助于解釋全球的肥胖類型,并對控制肥胖給予了新的啟發(fā)。
For example, they rated 69 US cities for how easy they were to get about on foot.
比如,他們根據(jù)人們步行的便利性對美國69個城市進行排序。
The smartphone data showed that cities like New York and San Francisco were pedestrian friendly and had "high walkability".
智能手機的數(shù)據(jù)表明,紐約和舊金山等城市對步行者更友好,步行率也更高。
Whereas you really need a car to get around "low walkability" cities including Houston and Memphis.
然而在休斯敦、孟菲斯等步行率較低的城市,你的確需要一輛車才能出行。
Unsurprisingly, people walked more in places where it was easier to walk.
毫無疑問,在適合走路的區(qū)域,人們會愿意走路去更多地方。
The researchers say this could help design town and cities that promote greater physical activity.
研究者認為這將有助于城鎮(zhèn)和城市規(guī)劃,促使人們更多地鍛煉。