Originally published October 7 2005
Officials encourage kids to exercise with walk to school week
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
As International Walk to School Week begins, health officials speak to the media about the importance of reestablishing daily physical activities, as lowered rates of walking and physical activity have contributed to the number of overweight children, which has increased 300 percent since the 1970s.
Today marks the start of International Walk to School Week, a global effort to encourage children, parents, teachers, and community leaders to celebrate the benefits of walking and the need to create communities that are safe for pedestrians.
Last year, an estimated 3 million walkers in 36 countries observed the week-long event by walking to school, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which supports International Walk to School Week.
In a survey conducted in 2004 among a group of parents of 5- to 18-year-olds, distance to school was the most commonly reported barrier to walking to school, cited by about 61 percent of parents, followed by traffic-related danger cited by 30 percent, and weather cited by 19 percent.
Close to 12 percent of parents reported crime as a barrier to walking to school and 6 percent cited school policy as a barrier.
A transportation bill passed by Congress this year earmarks $612 million in funds for SR2S programs to increase safety for children walking and biking to school.
According to CDC, one SR2S program in Marin County, California that incorporates all of the 4Es resulted in a 64 percent increase in the number of children walking to school and a 114 percent increase in bicycling by the second year of the program.
To address the distance barrier, school districts could encourage students to walk to school by instituting a program where children are bused to within one mile of school where they would proceed to school in "walking school bus" fashion, complete with an adult "driver" and adult "caboose" for safety.
Walking for transportation is part of an active lifestyle that can help lower the risk of heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and colon cancer and increase a person's sense of well being, CDC notes.
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