Walk-to-School Programs Put Kids’ Fitness First
Saying “no” to the school bus and walking kids to school instead could be a step—or more—toward boosting children’s activity levels, a new study shows.
Texas researchers split a group of 149 fourth-graders from eight schools in Houston into active commuters—those who walked to and from school up to five days a week—and a control group who were driven by bus or car. At the beginning of the study, both groups had logged similar amounts of moderate to vigorous activity, about 46 to 49 minutes per day.
But over the next five weeks, the kids who walked to school upped their activity slightly—an average of 7 extra minutes per day of moderate to vigorous exercise. In contrast, those who got driven to school actually lowered their daily activity over the study period, to an average of 41 minutes daily.
While the activity increase for walkers may seem modest, study author Dr. Jason Mendoza said that even small
