FRIDAY FOOTPRINT FLASH – It’s the simple things

Headline: Obesity rates are lower for cities in which more residents walk or bike to work than cities whose residents use less active transport.

While this is no surprise to anyone hip to obesity’s relationship with exercise (but the more correlation-strengthening data the merrier), it reinforces the notion that physical activity-preventing obesity doesn’t have to be fancy — or require a gym membership or special machines or special clothes/equipment (less a bike of course)…

Not to say that active transport is without challenge—safe routes, change of clothes, the elements, etc—and it may simply be impractical in certain situations, but as evidenced by the data, it seems the challenges can be overcome.

Active transport aids to combat obesity, but its big picture benefit is even more significant. Since healthy behavior begets healthy behavior, walking to work can catalyze a string of additional health-enhancing lifestyle modifications. The important take away is each step you take to, literally, walk to work entices other health-enhancing steps to follow.