Making Walking Easier Helps Health

We all know that exercise is important for good health, and for older people, walking is the preferred sort of exercise. The trouble is, many old folk live in neighborhoods where it isn’t much fun to take a walk, and sometimes may be even dangerous. Researchers at Dartmouth Medical School have reported on the ‘walkability’ of various areas in King County, Washington, and how higher ‘walkability’ scores are linked to significantly more walking for exercise. Their subjects were people aged 65 to 97. There was also a trend towards lower body mass index (BMI) in men living in high walkability neighborhoods, but this was no statistically significant, i.e. it might have occurred by chance alone. There’s little doubt, however, that more walking translates into less fat and improved health.

The authors of the study emphasize that walkability is more than being situated near a hiking trail or park – it’s having the opportunity to walk to places you have to visit anyway, like the bank, post office, or restaurant. This desirable feature is being built into the design of new developments, according to some builders. We wish it would become almost mandatory – especially with the longer-term price and availability of gas being so uncertain.