New Medical Study To Highlight Lack Of Walking/Biking To School

A new study that highlights a dramatic shift toward car commuting by kids will be published in the August issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

"The issue is important because it's linked to escalating rates of childhood obesity", observed Sarah Martin, the study's lead author, who performed the research while working at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Fewer than half of American children who live close to school regularly walk or ride a bike to classes, reports Martin.

"In 1969, about 90 percent of kids who lived within a mile of school walked or rode bikes to get there. In 2004, just 48 percent did that at least one day a week, the new study found."

"Children in the South did the least hoofing and pedaling, partly because of safety concerns, experts believe", though Martin reports cultural values played a significant role as well.

"Generally, studies have found that less educated families exercise less and have higher rates of obesity. But Martin's survey found that the children of well-educated parents were more likely to get a ride to school. She said in those families, both parents are likely to have jobs and may believe it's safer and more expedient for one of them to drive their child to school on their way to work."

"Such families likely have more cars, too. Other researchers have found that the number of cars is key to whether kids walk, said Lawrence Frank, a professor of community and regional planning at the University of British Columbia."

"More cars means less likely to walk," he said.

"Older urban communities have the most walking and biking children, at least partly because they were built with pedestrians in mind. But newer communities - like many in the South - were designed around the car, and may lack continuous sidewalks or safe crosswalks, Frank said."