Health News
Kentucky ranks 37th in the nation for its number of commuters who bike or walk to work. Of the 51 largest cities in the county, Louisville ranks 33rd.
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- Most Ky. Communities Not Friendly To Walkers, Joggers, Cyclists
Few Kentuckians live in walkable communities, according to the latest Kentucky Health Issues Poll for the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky. Only 32 percent of Kentucky adults said there are a number of destinations within an easy walking distance...
- Walking 101
By Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom College credit for walking? That?s what the University of Georgia offers as one of its fitness classes for students. Whether this is a good sign or bad sign for our nation?s fitness is debatable. Most of us are very familiar...
- Bike To Work Tomorrow
If you're like many of us, finding time to exercise can seem impossible. But one way to fit in exercise is to walk or bike to work. And what better day to try that than tomorrow, Baltimore's Bike-to-Work Day? Biking is a low-impact activity that's...
Health News
Kentucky ranks 37th, Louisville 33rd in percentage of commuters who bike or walk to work
Kentucky ranks 37th in the nation for its number of commuters who bike or walk to work. Of the 51 largest cities in the county, Louisville ranks 33rd.These are the findings of the Bicycling and Walking in the United States: 2012 Benchmarking Report, compiled by the Alliance for Biking & Walking. As well as looking at commuter numbers, it also examined how safe those commuters are and where transportation funding is being spent on "alternative means of local travel," reports Jeannine Stein of the Los Angeles Times. (Times photo by Wally Skalij)
Alaska, despite its cold climate, has the highest percentage of commuters who bike or walk to work. Boston has the highest ranking among cities. The lowest are Alabama and Fort Worth, Tex.
Across the country, 12 percent of all trips are on foot (10.5 percent) or by bicycle (1 percent), though from 2000 to 2009, the number of cycling commuters increased by 57 percent. While numbers are growing, safety is a concern. In the 51 largest cities, 12.7 percent of trips are by foot and 1.1 percent are by bicycle, but 26.9 percent of traffic fatalities are pedestrians and 3.1 percent are bicyclists.
Despite the risk, the report makes a connection with biking or walking and health. It points out cycling and walking levels fell 66 percent between 1960 and 2009, while obesity levels increased by 156 percent. The picture was more grim when it came to children. Between 1966 and 2009, the number of children who biked or walked to school fell by 75 percent, while the percentage of obese children rose by 276 percent.
Despite the physical benefits of the activity, states spend just 1.6 percent of their federal transportation dollars on bicycling and walking, amounting to just $2.17 per capita, the report found.
Instead of biking or walking, people are still relying mostly on their cars. The report found 40 percent of trips in the United States in 2009 were shorter than two miles, but Americans used their cars for 87 percent of trips that were 1 to 2 miles in distance. When it came to trips up to 1 mile long, Americans still used their cars 62 percent of the time.
The report was funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, AARP and Planet Bike.
- Health Department Urges Kentuckians To Walk Regularly; State Ranks High In Obesity, Low In Physical Activity
With summer here, the state health department is urging Kentuckians to adopt a regular walking schedule to connect with friends and neighbors and improve health and fitness in a state that ranks high in obesity and low in physical activity....
- National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month: Policy Changes Underway In Ky. To Lower Its Very High Childhood Obesity Rate
September is National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month, and a number of policy changes are underway to combat the increasing trend of overweight children in America and Kentucky, where one in three kids are on their way to developing Type 2 diabetes....
- Most Ky. Communities Not Friendly To Walkers, Joggers, Cyclists
Few Kentuckians live in walkable communities, according to the latest Kentucky Health Issues Poll for the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky. Only 32 percent of Kentucky adults said there are a number of destinations within an easy walking distance...
- Walking 101
By Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom College credit for walking? That?s what the University of Georgia offers as one of its fitness classes for students. Whether this is a good sign or bad sign for our nation?s fitness is debatable. Most of us are very familiar...
- Bike To Work Tomorrow
If you're like many of us, finding time to exercise can seem impossible. But one way to fit in exercise is to walk or bike to work. And what better day to try that than tomorrow, Baltimore's Bike-to-Work Day? Biking is a low-impact activity that's...