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 xercise is a well known but little used path to better
health, so how can communities get more arms and legs pumping
before too many hearts stop pumping? Build walking trails, say
researchers, and they will come especially women and people with
lower incomes.
 A Saint
Louis University School of Public Health study of communities
where more walking trails had been built found that nearly 40%
of people with access had used the trails and more than 55% of
trail walkers had increased their walking since beginning to
use a trail. Walking is the most common physical activity among
the general population, especially among older persons and racial/ethnic
minorities.
This is the
first US study to systematically examine the possible effects
of walking trail development. The study was funded by the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention, including support from the
National Institutes of Health Women's Health Initiative, in a
collaborative effort with the Missouri Department of Health.
It appears in the April issue of the American Journal of Preventive
Medicine published today.
The Saint
Louis University researchers also found that women were more
than twice as likely as men to report that they had increased
the amount of walking since they began to use the walking trails.
Similarly, lower income groups were more likely to have increased
walking due to trail use than were higher income persons.
Notably, persons
who were not regular walkers were more likely to report increased
activity due to trail use than were regular walkers. "Even
the previously inactive find trail walking attractive, which
is extremely important because moving sedentary individuals to
any level of activity is likely to confer health benefits,"
said lead author Ross C. Brownson, Ph.D., of the Saint Louis
University School of Public Health.
"Public
walking campaigns may be especially useful, though currently
under-used, tools for health promotion because of their acceptability
and accessibility," said Brown-son. "Walking trails
may be beneficial in promoting physical activity among segments
of the population at greatest risk for inactivity, in particular
women and people in lower socioeconomic groups."
"The
study underscores the aim of the Missouri Department of Health
to improve the health of the public by encouraging healthful
physical activity," said coauthor Bernard R. Malone of the
Missouri Department of Health, coinvestigator in the study.
The researchers
surveyed 1,269 adults 18 years and older from 12 counties in
southeastern Missouri. Working with local leaders, community
coalitions are building walking trails in these rural communities
which offer few sidewalks, shopping malls or other affordable
places to walk as part of a multifaceted program to reduce risk
factors for heart disease. In addition to walking trails, the
program also focuses on helping people stop smoking and eat better
diets.
The researchers
say the trails were developed at relatively low cost, about $2,000
to $4,000 per trail. Local public and private agencies frequently
are willing to donate time and resources toward construction
and maintenance, they add.
"Much
more work is needed on ways to actively promote trail use and
in determining whether there are longer-term effects on walking
behavior among groups at highest risk of sedentary lifestyles,"
said Brownson. 
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