Study: Few Kids Walk Or Bike To School

Research Shows That Even Among Children Who Live Nearby, Most Take A Car Or Bus

(AP)  Fewer than half of American children who live close to school regularly walk or ride a bike to classes, according to a new study that highlights a dramatic shift toward car commuting by kids.

Children in the South did the least hoofing and pedaling, partly because of safety concerns, experts believe.

The issue is important because it's linked to escalating rates of childhood obesity. Many schools have been cutting back on recess and physical education, observed Sarah Martin, the study's lead author.

"Kids need to take advantage of the opportunities that do exist for physical activity," said Martin, a Maine-based evaluation consultant and former researcher with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The article is being published in the August issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Martin did the research when she was at the CDC.

Other studies have found that relatively few kids walk or bike to school. The numbers have dropped as the population has grown while the number of schools has declined and the distance to get to them has grown for many families.

In 1969, about 90 percent of kids who lived within a mile of school walked or rode bikes to get there. In 2004, just 48 percent did that at least one day a week, the new study found.

Separately, federal statistics suggest the numbers are worse, of course, for children who live farther from school. In 1969, 42 percent walked or cycled and in 2001 (the most recent data available for that group), just 16 percent did.

The figures for those living within a mile of school are based on a spring 2004 nationwide, random-digit-dialed telephone survey of families with children ages 9 to 15. More than 7,400 families were surveyed.

The researchers didn't ask why so many children were driven to school, but possible explanations include parental attitudes about exercise and concerns about safety, Martin said.

Generally, studies have found that less educated families exercise less and have higher rates of obesity. But Martin's survey found that the children of well-educated parents were more likely to get a ride to school. She said in those families, both parents are likely to have jobs and may believe it's safer and more expedient for one of them to drive their child to school on their way to work.

Such families likely have more cars, too. Other researchers have found that the number of cars is key to whether kids walk, said Lawrence Frank, a professor of community and regional planning at the University of British Columbia.

"More cars means less likely to walk," he said.

Also, many suburban and rural areas are built without sidewalks, good crosswalks or other safety features, several experts said.

Older urban communities have the most walking and biking children, at least partly because they were built with pedestrians in mind. But newer communities — like many in the South — were designed around the car, and may lack continuous sidewalks or safe crosswalks, Frank said.

Research also has shown that the South has the lowest levels of exercise and adult activity. "They don't view walking to school as very important," Martin said.

Liz Hansen, a Lawrenceville, Ga., mother of a 19-year-old college student, recalled that when her son was young, the family lived just two blocks from his elementary school. But she usually drove him because she worried for his safety.

Later, her son — Ryan — lived less than a mile from his high school, but he didn't like to walk or even ride the bus. "It was uncool," she said.

[ndg1979]

I can understand if you are concerned for the safety of your child, especially where child abductors and molesters are concerned. But if you feel that your neighborhood is safe enough, the kids should walk or bike.

When I was in school (I'm now 28), I walked. We only lived about 7 blocks from the school. And unless there was a good reason for my parents to take me (storms, heavy snow, etc...), the luxury of a car just wasn't in the cards. I was an active guy in school playing with the band, and outside doing volunteer work for non-profits. During all of my high-school career I was 5 foot 10 inches and weighed a thin 135 pounds.

Even though I now drive, I have only gained 30 pounds since high school. I still volunteer constantly and my job keeps my on my feet all day. Being active is the key to preventing obesity, though diet helps, it is the constant movement that keeps your metabolism high. And by the way - I live on a meat and potatoes diet. I eat anything I want without concern for moderation.

Volunteer, play a sport, an instrument, something, anything besides a video game or the internet and watch as the pounds drop and you help build your community.

[hypnotoad72]

"Kids need to take advantage of the opportunities that do exist for physical activity."

There's another quote: "Life is what we make of it." Our society has the power of choice unlike communist countries, though at least when they screw up, everybody truly knows who to go blame. Not McSidewalk... But I digress. Why are recess and phy ed being reduced and eliminated? Why compel kids to avoid walking to school? Expand the roads and add a pedestrian lane the drivers aren't allowed to cross... then hope the drivers are mature and sober...

[brianbwb-2009]

Yeah, right, get your $200+ bike stolen by the school hoodlums, be hit by a drive by bullet intended for someone else, get harassed and molested by rogue cops, hit by a drunk driver, or shot for stepping on someones' grass, etc., etc.,

Growing numbers of people are hiring private tutors and opting for home education, because the quality of the education you take such risks to get won't prepare you for college, or any other kind of adult independence.

This is not new, I went through, or witnessed others going through this in a Detroit suburb in the 70s.

think its time to take a cursory peek outside the ivory towers, the world changed long ago, there is no Mayberry for most of today's kids...

[mtfd1952]

thank goodness we now have SUV's so these supersized kids can be transported to school.

[gabbysmomrs]

So, what is a "safe neighborhood"? Does it have a big sign saying "safe neighborhood" NO. We aren't in Kansas anymore. The days when kids could walk to school safely are over, I think. There's no reason to take a chance on that "safety" I hate that, but when I was a kid we could walk or ride our bikes from one end of town to the other to go to school...it was fun and healthy and SAFE for us. I don't want to scare anyone, but it isn't safe anymore. Those things DO happen in our towns now, we can't leave our doors unlocked and our keys in our cars anymore. There are still towns where people do those things, however, that community may be the one saying "Those things never happened here before...the kidnapping, rape, murder, whatever. So, they are safer riding to school than going on their own...we need to give kids other outlets for healthy activities...of course, some schools have taken even recesses away from the kids, so they'll what???

[michellem99-2009]

The parents can have them carry GPS with them. I am 52. We had to take the school bus. I walked to placed as a teen. I lived in small towns in New England. It was different back than. I only walked places I knew. We had recess.
Children need recess,phy ed. It is not healthy to deny them this out of fear. Put fences up so they can have recess,phy ed etc. Fat children will get fatter the way the schools are going. Teachers are they too lazy to be on duty at recess.