What's Your Next Move? Connected Health and Weather Analytics Study Reveals New Insights Each Step of the Way

New AccuWeather and Withings data study explains the significant impact of weather on physical activity levels worldwide.

AccuWeather Global Weather Center -- November 18, 2015 -- AccuWeather, the global leader in weather information and digital media, and Withings, the leader in the connected health revolution, today announced the findings of a new study correlating AccuWeather’s comprehensive global weather data with Superior Accuracy(tm) and activity levels from Withings’ activity trackers.

To complete this in-depth study, data science teams from both companies analyzed temperature and precipitation data sets to determine how they correlated with participant step activity by location, age, and gender over a one-year time period for 24 global cities. The custom study demonstrates the expansive impact of weather on consumer behavior, connecting local weather conditions with physical activity.

According to the study, the preferred temperature for physical activity varies dramatically by city -- from 90-99 degrees F in Sao Paulo, Brazil to 60-69 degrees F in New York City, Los Angeles, Berlin, Tokyo, Seoul, and Shanghai. On average, the ideal temperature range for activity globally is 60-69 degrees F. In this preferred temperature range, men and women are much more active, with a difference as high as 860 steps verses cold temperatures (less than 15 degrees F).

Additional findings:

- Do men or women take more steps? While men take more steps than women on average across all cities, men are more sensitive to cold temperatures than women. Men walk around 7% fewer steps when the temperatures are colder than their preferred temperature range compared to 6% for women.

- When the brutal cold arrives, what city is least active? In Chicago when the temperature is colder than the preferred range, people walk 14% fewer steps.

- Who heads indoors first, men or women? Women have a stronger activity response to rain than men, averaging 8.3% fewer steps with rainfall.

- What temperatures do major U.S. cities prefer? Los Angeles and New York have the same preferred temperature range (60-69 degrees F) for physical activity, while Seattle and San Francisco prefer it warmer (70-79 degrees F).

- Do cities with similar average temperature walk the same distance in a day? Shanghai and San Francisco have a similar average temperature, but Shanghai averages 500 more steps in a day.

- When the heat turns on, what city is least active? When temperatures are higher than the preferred range, San Antonio is 10% less active, while there is no change in activity in Seattle.

- When it rains, what city is least active? When it rains, people in Shanghai are 13% less active, while Dallas and San Antonio see little or no change.

- Who handles heat better, men or women? While men respond more than women to cold temperatures, the opposite is true for hot temperatures.

- Does rain dampen our activity? On rainy days, men and women are on average 7-8% less active compared to days when there is no rain.

Connected Health and Weather Analytics Study results were developed from AccuWeather’s proprietary global weather database and anonymized activity data from Withings’ activity trackers. The study was conducted to highlight the unique, significant impact of weather on behavior so that people can improve their lives by better understanding, adapting, and maximizing exercise plans and activities in any weather condition.

View more information here: Full Study -- http://blog.withings.com/2015/11/17/accuweather-activity-data-story Infographic -- http://blog.withings.com/2015/11/17/infographic-weather-impacts-activity

About AccuWeather, Inc. and AccuWeather.comEvery day over 1.5 billion people worldwide rely on AccuWeather to help them plan their lives, protect their businesses, and get more from their day. AccuWeather provides hourly and Minute by Minute(tm) forecasts with Superior Accuracy(tm) with customized content and engaging video presentations available on smart phones, tablets, free wired and mobile Internet sites via AccuWeather.com, connected TVs, and Internet appliances, as well as via radio, television, newspapers and the new AccuWeather Network cable channel. Established in 1962 by Founder, President, and Chairman Dr. Joel N. Myers -- a Fellow of the American Meteorological Society who was recognized as one of the top entrepreneurs in American history by Entrepreneur Magazine’s Encyclopedia of Entrepreneurs -- AccuWeather also delivers a wide range of highly-customized enterprise solutions to media, business, government, and institutions, as well as news, weather content, and video for more than 180,000 third-party websites. AccuWeather’s CEO, Barry Lee Myers, is an award winning leader in global weather information issues and one of the world’s most recognized advocates for cooperative relationships between government weather agencies and the weather industry. He is a leader in the digital weather information space.

About WithingsWithings is the company that leads the connected-health revolution. Founded by visionary innovators Cedric Hutchings and Eric Carreel, Withings create products and services that empower people to track their lifestyle and improve their everyday wellbeing for a better long-term health. Emotional, flawlessly designed and simple-to-use, they seamlessly introduce cutting-edge innovation into people’s daily routine. Since 2009, Withings has built a range of products that covers the whole health spectrum including the Withings Pulse (activity tracker), the Smart Body Analyzer (smart scale), the Wireless Blood Pressure Monitor and Withings Aura (Smart Sleep System). Every piece of collected data comes to life into the Withings Health Mate application where users get coaching and motivation tools to shape every aspect of their health. Read more about Withings on www.withings.com. For high resolution images and press releases, visit www.withings.com/press.

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