Good morning everyone,
FYI, the study below may be of interest.
Children in low-income neighborhood with special walking/bike trail
exercised more
http://newsroom.heart.org/pr/aha/children-in-low-income-neighborhood-230
088.aspx
SAN DIEGO, March 15, 2012 - Children living in a neighborhood designed
with a special bike trail were three times as likely as those in a
traditional neighborhood to engage in vigorous physical activity,
according to new research presented at the American Heart Association's
Epidemiology and Prevention/Nutrition, Physical Activity and Metabolism
2012 Scientific Sessions.
Researchers compared two low-income neighborhoods in Chattanooga, Tenn.
One had a "new urbanist construction" that features a
specially-designed, two-mile, extra-wide trail/sidewalk for biking and
walking that winds from new public housing and single-family residences
to a school, library, recreational facility, park and retail shops. The
other area has traditional homes, public housing, a new school, park and
an older, regular-width sidewalk.
"There was more vigorous activity in the park and along the trail," said
Gregory W. Heath, D.H.Sc., M.P.H., the study's lead author and assistant
provost for research and engagement at the University of Tennessee at
Chattanooga and the UT College of Medicine. "There was more jogging or
bike riding, which makes sense because the urban trail was made for
that."
In previous studies on this type of community feature, researchers
focused mostly on suburban or upper-income neighborhoods, Heath said.
"Infrastructural changes like these are expensive," said Heath, who is
also professor of health and human performance and medicine. "But quite
frankly in the long run, they're worth it."
Co-author is S. White-Woerner, B.S. Author disclosures are on the
abstracts. The Middle Tennessee State University Center for Physical
Activity and Health in Youth funded the study.
Eloisa Raynault | American Public Health Association | 800 I Street, NW,
Washington, DC 20001 | Transportation, Health and Equity Program Manager
| o: 202-777-2487 |
http://www.apha.org/transportation
<http://www.apha.org/transportation>
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