The average Kansan would not walk a mile to get somewhere, a survey reveals.

Tech product review company Gear Hungry surveyed 2,200 Americans to find out how many of us would not be prepared to walk a mile to get somewhere. The average Kansan would far prefer to jump in her car instead of putting one foot in front of the other, surveyors learned. On average, the longest Kansans would walk to get somewhere is 17.9 minutes — about 0.9 miles.

Other findings

• A third of Americans would take an elevator rather than walk up one flight of stairs.

• Half of those under 35 can’t remember when they last ran a mile.

• Over one in 10 would not exercise more, even if their lives depended on it.

• When on a health kick, people only managed to last just 7.8 days before being defeated and succumbing to fast food.

The folks at Gear Hungry add: “Troubling data from the federal health officials earlier this year showed that in 2016 and 2017 over 40 percent of Americans were obese, a sharp increase from the decade before. Data also showed that the sale of fast food had increased by 22.7 percent between 2012 and 2017.”

The survey found Kansans are about average on the question of how long they would walk to get somewhere. (If someone would bother to survey Great Bend residents, they’d know that people here aren’t even will to drive for 18 minutes to get somewhere in town. Luckily they don’t have to — everything is that close!)

We’re pretty good at coming up with excuses, too. According to the survey, 77 percent of respondents say they are too busy to do exercise and 74 percent say they are too busy to eat healthily.

“It’s not always easy to fit exercise into our busy schedules,” says Jordan Carter from Gear Hungry. “Increasing our steps each day is a good way to fit in more active time into our days. There are plenty of great fitness trackers out there which will help you monitor your daily activity levels and really help to keep you motivated.”

Staying active all year long is important. Don’t wait for the new year.

— Susan Thacker

An interactive map from Gear Hungry shows how far Americans are willing to walk, by state. It can be found at https://www.gearhungry.com/walk-a-mile/