Brits walk an average of 61 miles around their kitchen

Spending more time in the kitchen could be good for your health, as new survey reveals we’ve walked 130,000 steps in 2014.

The World Health Organisation, and also the NHS, recommend wearing a pedometer and taking 10,000 steps a day as a way to improve fitness and combat obesity.

In a recent study carried out by Betta Living, respondents were asked to wear a pedometer whenever they were in the kitchen and the results were eye-opening.

Sunday was the busiest day, with an average distance walked of 0.6 miles (1,400 steps) and anything up to 6 hours spent in the kitchen by the person doing all the cooking and cleaning. Saturday was a close second (0.4 miles), with weekdays seeing lots of traffic only at breakfast time and early evening (an average of 0.2 miles). Totalled up this means we will have walked an average 61 miles (or 130,000 steps) around our kitchen in 2014; the same distance as London to Oxford.

We don’t just use the kitchen to make meals either. When asked what Brits used their kitchen for, cooking was obviously top of the list. But also appearing in the results were: eating (86%), socialising (35%), homework/study (25%) and browsing on the internet (24%). The average kitchen is now 11m2 (or 118 square feet) and getting bigger as Brits are spending more time in the kitchen.

Time lapse footage shows just how much walking around the kitchen is done, without even realising. So if you’re a keen cook, or love to entertain, you’re already on your way to staying fit and healthy in 2015.