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February 2007
Biking, walking increase with ‘destination exercise’
Creating more options to bike or walk to destinations could have positive effects on obesity trends and energy use, said Dr. Dan Halvorsen, adjunct assistant professor in the University’s Department of Physiology. He made his comments at the November 8 meeting of the CTS Planning and Environment Research Council.
Halvorsen, who also directs the Kohl’s PowerCubed Exercise Medicine Clinic at Children’s Hospitals and Clinics, said three “cooperative problems” are emerging in the United States: an obesity epidemic, rising medical costs, and fossil fuel costs and supplies. “One solution for all three,” he said, “may be more systematic ‘destination exercise’ for children and adults.”
Walking and biking are the easiest lifetime sports, Halvorsen explained, and thus are commonly prescribed by doctors as “exercise medicine” for a range of health issues. In his research, more than 67 percent of patients adhere to their daily walking or biking exercise program if it includes a destination like school or work. When the walking and biking routes are efficient, safe, fun, and easily accessible, their adherence rises to 81 percent.
Schools present an important opportunity for destination exercise, especially with the rise in childhood obesity. Currently, however, “there is a disconnect between school campus planning and transportation planning,” Halvorsen said. Intersections and roads near schools need to be designed with student accessibility in mind. “What’s it like in rush hour for kids? How accessible are paths? In January or February? City council members, school staff, and school boards need to see some of this physiological data,” he said.
To demonstrate how the three societal problems come together, Halvorsen compared the caloric expenditures of various activities. A 150-pound student burns 70 to 100 calories by walking a mile to school, for example, or 25 to 65 calories by biking. In contrast, making the trip in a Toyota Prius burns 585 calories of gasoline, or 2,375 with a Cadillac Escalade.
“You in this room are part of our medical cost containment system,” he said. “When you realize that that is what you are providing as a society, we will be able to roll up our sleeves and tackle these issues together.”
Seminar attendees included representatives from the Rails-to-Trails Conversancy, BlueCross BlueShield, the Federal Highway Administration, and the Nonmotorized Transportation Pilot Program (NTPP). CTS is leading the program evaluation for NTPP, which was authorized by Congress in the 2005 transportation bill (see the October CTS Report at www.cts.umn.edu/Publications).
Halvorsen’s presentation was part of the CTS Research Seminar Series.