Step it up outdoors
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Physical activity can improve your health. People who are physically active tend to live longer and have lower risk for heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, depression, and some cancers. Physical activity can also help with weight control, and may improve academic achievement in students. Walking is an easy way to start and maintain a physically active lifestyle, and parks are a great place to start.
Physical activity made easy
People of all abilities can benefit from safe and convenient places to walk, run, bike, skate, or use wheelchairs. The decision to walk is personal, but that decision is easier if community walkability is improved. It is important to connect places that people regularly use with sidewalks or paths that are safe and attractive, especially between schools, worksites, parks, recreational facilities that are within walkable distance of each other.
A walk in the park
Less than 40% of people in the United States live within one-half mile of a park boundary, and only 55% of youth have access to parks or playgrounds, recreation centers, and sidewalks in their neighborhoods. However, there is evidence that people with more access to green environments, like parks and recreation areas, tend to walk more than those with limited access. Well-designed parks and trails can promote physical activity and community interaction and provide mental health benefits, such as reduced stress.
Design matters
To help people be active, parks and recreation spaces can offer opportunities for various types of activity, such as walking, hiking and team sports. Programs can be designed to attract a wide range of visitors—age groups, cultures, and ability levels—throughout the year. Park programs can also help participants address barriers to physical activity, including physical limitations and safety concerns. Walking groups or buddy systems can help provide people with multiple opportunities to walk each week. Park entrances with universal access for multiple types of active transportation can promote biking and walking to and from the park.
In September 2015, the Office of the Surgeon General in the US Department of Health and Human Services released Step It Up! The Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Promote Walking and Walkable Communities (the Call to Action) to recognize walking as an important way to promote physical activity among most people. The Call to Action is intended to increase walking across the United States by calling for improved access to safe and convenient places to walk and wheelchair roll, as well as a culture that supports these activities for all ages and abilities.
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