Access to Walking areas vital to the Nation’s health.

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The following emphasize the importance of having trails and walking paths close to the population.  A priority of the State Assistance program of the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund.. fyi..

CDC’s New Report Brings the Importance of Walking to Center Stage
Courtesy of America Walks

We are excited to tell you that, today, the National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released its August Vital Signs Issue – and the focus is on WALKING. This is BIG NEWS for walking and health advocates and puts the importance of safe and accessible walking environments in even more of a national spotlight.

This Vital Signs report on walking provides an opportunity for states, communities, and partners to mobilize around the importance of environmental and programmatic supports for walking and the many health benefits of an active lifestyle. To this end, the CDC calls everyone to be mindful of and to take action on this key message: “Better spaces and more places for walking can get people more active.”

The Vital Signs report examines data from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) on the prevalence of walking among adults. The report also echoes the National Prevention Strategy and the recent IOM report, Accelerating Progress in Obesity Prevention, calling on communities (including schools, governments, work sites and healthcare agencies) to provide safe and accessible options for physical activity.

The Community Guide for Preventive Services also provides three recommended strategies support walking:

1. Creating or enhancing access to places for physical activity combined with informational outreach such as walking trails and paths and joint use agreements;

2. Street-scale urban design and land-use policies such as lighting and safe street design; and

3. Community-scale urban design land use policies such as pedestrian and recreational master plans and development of mixed used communities.

Please feel free to share the materials broadly.

Click here to view the report: http://www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns/Walking/index.html