Average number of steps per day for men, women

[ActiveMSers]

I've been tracking my steps daily for the past year and recently hit the 500 mile mark (I got a digital badge, woohoo!). I probably average about 2,500 steps a day, with 3,500+ being a good day. I've broken 5,000 steps maybe a dozen times--a very heavy day for me. And then I read this 2004 study....

How many steps per day does the average American take? Pedometer researcher Dr. Catrine Tudor-Locke is on the hunt for the answer. Her study, published in "Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise" in 2004, showed wide variation in the 200 men and women who participated.

Men: The men in the survey took an average of 7192 steps per day.

Women: The women in the survey took an average of 5210 step per day.

http://walking.about.com/od/measure/a/averagesteps.htm

I've never hit the 7,000 barrier, the daily average for men. Urg. I have to remember to compare my successes with myself and not to the average (able-bodied) person!