(Image source from: www.thenewsminute.com)

While men and women in India are to a large extent physically inactive, women were found to burn fewer calories than their male counterparts, finds a survey of more than one million Indians.

The survey - "Physical activity levels of Indians" by HealthifyMe, the domestic health and fitness application - found that 53 percent women in India are "inactive" and burn less than 50 percent of calories that an individual should burn through physical activity, every day, as against 44 percent of men.

The average calorie burn budget of Indian men is 476 calories per day versus women's 374 calories per day, out of which men burn 55 percent (262) while women burn just 44 percent (165). More than 30 percent of men are "active", burning more than 80 percent of their calories, and only 24 percent of women are "active" and 22 percent "mildly active". 

"It is a matter of grave concern that almost half of all Indians are inactive and burn less than even 50 percent of their calorie budget. Inactivity and unhealthy food habits can lead to several lifestyle diseases like obesity, hypertension, diabetes and high cholesterol," Tushar Vashisht, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, HealthifyMe said, in a statement on Monday.

"From our experience, we are already witnessing an increase of such cases amongst people as early as in their 30s. "Everyday physical activity and good eating habits can play a crucial role in avoiding and even reversing such diseases. It is time that we start taking 'working out' more seriously," Vashisht said.

Further, the survey showed that Tier 1 cities continue to be more active than Tier 2 cities, burning 407 calories in a day versus 371 in Tier 2. Gurugram, Bengaluru, and Noida were found as the most fitness conscious, while Jaipur, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, and Lucknow were to the lowest degree active cities.

The data is based on the activity auto-synced through fitness-bands or smartphone apps as well as self-reported physical exercises from more than one million users, aged between 25 and 35.

-Sowmya Sangam