Serving in restaurants 'most active profession' in Australia

Melbourne, Apr 3 (ANI): Waiters in Australia clock up over double the daily recommended number of steps - 10,000 steps a day - making it the most active profession in the country, a new study has revealed.

Nurses came second in the survey, about 6500 steps behind waiters and waitresses, followed by retail workers, News.com.au reported.

Call centre employees were the least active with office workers only some paces ahead.

Ten people from 10 different professions - including teachers, hairdressers, farmers and mothers - were given pedometers by weight loss company Jenny Craig to keep track of how much incidental exercise they got on an average work day.

The study found that waiters walked an average of 22,778 steps as compared to 6618 steps by call centre workers.

The recommended healthy target for people to lose weight is about 12,000 to 15,000 steps each day.

Accredited practising dietitian and Jenny Craig consultant Karen Inge asserted that there were health concerns for people who sit down for long periods of time.

"They probably have a greater chance of being overweight because they're not burning kilojoules," Inge said.

"If people can't really move while at work, they should make a concerted effort to set aside an hour a day to get the physical activity they need for their health," Inge added.

List of profession and average steps per day is given below:

Waiters - 22,778

Nurses - 16,390

Retail workers - 14,660

Farmers - 14,037

Mothers - 13,813

Teachers - 12,564

Tradesmen - 11,585

Hair dressers - 9209

Office workers - 7570

Call centre workers - 6618 (ANI)