Last week, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek H. Murthy launched Step it Up!, a Call to Action to Promote Walking and Walkable Communities, urging community planners, local leaders and ordinary Americans to help create more safe areas for walking and wheelchair rolling.
Only half of U.S. adults get the recommended amount of physical activity to help reduce the risk of preventable, chronic disease like diabetes and heart disease. For many racial and ethnic minority populations, the rates are even lower, coupled with higher obesity rates. Blacks have the highest age-adjusted rates of obesity, followed by Hispanics.
But while walking is an easy way to start and maintain a physically active lifestyle, many communities lack access to safe space to walk. The U.S. Department of Transportation found in 2013 that about 30 percent of people live in communities without sidewalks. And in many communities, violence – and the perception of violence – may also serve as a barrier to walking.
The Surgeon General’s call to action lays out ideas for how employers, schools, city planners, public agencies, health and nonprofit organizations, individuals and families can promote walking and make their communities more walkable. For more information about the call to action and how to get involved, visit http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/stepitup.
Surgeon General’s Walking Playlist
Check out the Step It Up! Everyone Can Help Make Our Communities More Walkable infographic!