Women: Walking Less and Paying More to Stay Safe

Every day in nearly every country, women disproportionately walk fewer steps than men, causing untold health problems. The reasons could be down to cultural gender roles or the walkability of urban environments but ask any woman why they choose to travel as they do and the same factor inevitably rears its ugly head: safety.

Walking Less, Weighing More

A new Stanford University study used smartphones to collect the walking data of more than 718,537 people in 111 countries over a combined 68 million days.

The study’s aim was to understand the factors that affect physical activity in order to help curb the “global pandemic” of inactivity. “A large portion” (43%) of the activity inequality found was due to the reduced activity of one demographic: women.

The results clearly reveal that gender has a huge impact on health inequality. Women are walking less than men and their health suffers because of it.

To make things worse the researchers discovered that the relationship between obesity and activity was actually stronger in females than in males. While walking more reduces obesity in both genders, the instances of obesity increased far more rapidly in women than men as the number of steps decreased – a 232% increase for females compared to 67% for males.

Essentially women are much more likely than men to gain weight as they become inactive. As the Stanford study points out, physical activity isn’t just vital in combatting obesity; it improves musculoskeletal health, reduces symptoms of depression and anxiety and prevents cognitive decline. The research shows that UK women take 1,074 fewer steps on average every day than men – that’s 393,010 fewer each year and that disparity inevitably takes a toll on women’s health.

Why Women Walk Less

Tim Althoff, the study’s lead researcher, pointed out that if a disparity is on a global scale there has to be a root cause.

“If one person doesn’t walk a whole lot, maybe they’re lazy. If hundreds of thousands of people – and especially women – don’t walk a lot?

That’s not an individual laziness problem, that’s a societal problem.” Althoff explained that as women tend to be shorter than men and typically have shorter legs, you’d expect them to take more steps than men to cover the same distances – not fewer.

So what is the societal issue? Cultural differences between genders certainly contribute – in some countries it’s expected that men travel for work while women stay at home – but personal safety is undoubtedly a factor.

Holly Kearl, founder of the US non-profit organisation Stop Street Harassment, said that women feel forced to use modes of transport other than walking simply because they don’t feel safe. That means women are not only sacrificing their health for safety but it also makes feeling safe a financial strain. “We know so many women feel they have to take public transit, or pay for a taxi, or drive and pay for parking wherever they’re going. There are definitely ways in which women are paying to stay safe.”

As one in three women in London have reported being harassed on public transport, the cheaper options of bus and Tube don’t guarantee safety and that isn’t likely to improve in the city any time soon.

The Metropolitan Police’s Project Guardian looked at ways to prevent and report sexual harassment on public transport and the results showed a greater police presence was imperative to combat harassment – something London’s strained police force can’t afford under Tory austerity measures.

That leaves expensive cabs as the safest option for women – ignoring of course the 32 accusations of rape or sexual attacks by Uber drivers in London alone last year.

Limited transport options and the dangers of walking are taking a toll on women around the world. Surveys have confirmed that most women will change their behaviour to ensure their safety, with some opting to stay indoors altogether. A US study found that 85% of women had changed their behaviour while travelling home to improve personal safety and 87% said the same in a survey in Australia. The latter found that 61% of women simply avoided walking in the dark, showing a clear correlation between safety and walking that’s having a profound affect on women’s health across the world.

by Jo Davey

The post Women: Walking Less and Paying More to Stay Safe appeared first on Felix Magazine.