Walking to school boosts girls' activity levels

By Amy Norton

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - An old-fashioned walk to and from school may be a good way to get kids more physically active, a new study suggests.

Researchers found that middle-school girls who walked to and from school fit in more daily exercise than their peers. On average, walkers got an extra 14 minutes of physical activity each day, according to findings published in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

With childhood obesity an-ever growing problem, boosting children's physical activity has become a priority, but one traditional form of exercise -- the walk to school -- has become nearly obsolete. Research shows that less than 15 percent of U.S. children ages 5 to 15 walk to school, compared with 48 percent in 1968.

Modern community design is thought to be one reason; many children live beyond walking distance to school, or live in areas that lack enough sidewalks and safe crosswalks.

However, if it's feasible for kids to walk or bike to school, parents should encourage it, according to Dr. Brit I. Saksvig, a research assistant professor in kinesiology at the University of Maryland in College Park.

"It's definitely an opportunity to get more physical activity into the day," she said in an interview.

Saksvig and her colleagues based their findings on nearly 1,600 girls from 36 middle schools, all of whom kept track of their activities for three days and wore a portable monitor that recorded their physical activity.

Overall, the researchers found, 14 percent of the girls said they walked before school -- with school being the destination in most cases -- and 18 percent walked after school. Girls in neighborhoods with sufficient sidewalks and "interesting things to look at" were more likely to walk than girls who lacked those things.

On average, girls who walked before and after school got 14 more minutes of daily physical activity, and 5 extra minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise. This translates into more than 200 additional calories burned per week, the researchers estimate.

There was no difference in the average body mass index, or BMI, between walkers and non-walkers, but that doesn't negate the potential benefits of walking, according to Saksvig.

Over time, she explained, those extra minutes of exercise could make a difference in girls' weight. Even a 10- or 15-minute walk gets kids closer to the recommended goal of an hour of moderate to vigorous activity per day.

When walking to and from school is not an option, there are other ways to get kids moving, Saksvig noted -- such as after-school activities and family outings that involve exercise.

SOURCE: Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, February 2007.