{"id":28,"date":"2003-11-23T11:54:41","date_gmt":"2003-11-23T16:54:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.townbranch.org\/info\/2008\/02\/13\/greenway-trails-improved-community-health\/"},"modified":"2008-04-30T17:07:31","modified_gmt":"2008-04-30T22:07:31","slug":"greenway-trails-improved-community-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.townbranch.org\/info\/?p=28","title":{"rendered":"Greenway Trails = Improved Community Health"},"content":{"rendered":"

The design and planning of our communities plays a major part in our health and wellbeing. The consequences of sprawl are very serious for many reasons. Here\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just one:<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Challenges in Health: Getting America Moving Again<\/strong><\/p>\n

Physical inactivity is a major cause of sickness and disease in the United States. Inactivity \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and its close companion, obesity \u00e2\u20ac\u201c are responsible for as many as 23 percent of all premature deaths from the major chronic diseases. This is true despite many recent advances in the prevention and treatment of these diseases. Inactivity and obesity threaten the current and future health of millions of Americans.<\/p>\n

Sound depressing? Sure, but here\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s another way to think of it: Americans aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t overweight, they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re just under-walked and under-biked!<\/p>\n

Take a quick look at some sobering statistics:<\/p>\n

*\tObesity is associated with a lot of trouble we don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want for ourselves or our families: heart disease, certain types of cancer, Type 2 Diabetes, stroke, arthritis, breathing problems, and psychological disorders, such as depression.<\/p>\n

*\tThe percentage of overweight adolescents has nearly tripled in the past two decades. In 1999, 13 percent of children aged 6 to 11 years and 14 percent of adolescents aged 12 to 19 years were overweight.<\/p>\n

Back in 1918, the U.S. Children\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Bureau said, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The health of the child is the power of the nation.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s why people in public health today are so alarmed about the percentage of overweight young people. They know that all types of physical activity tend to decline as we get older.<\/p>\n

*\tDid we mention expensive? The cost of health problems associated with obesity in the United States in 2000 was estimated to be a staggering $117 billion.<\/p>\n

Let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s examine what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s fueling our troubling trends.<\/p>\n

One major factor is urban sprawl and a transportation system designed for cars, rather than people. The decline in physical activity \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and the related surge in obesity \u00e2\u20ac\u201c parallels the lack of opportunities we have to bicycle and walk in and beyond our neighborhoods.<\/p>\n

Walking and bicycling aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t just about enjoying the outdoors: they are key components of a strong nation\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s public-health plan. By taking a walk or going for a bike ride, you are actually practicing preventative medicine. The opportunities that exist (or don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t exist) to enjoy these activities are a reflection of your community\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s commitment to the health and well-being of you and your neighbors.<\/p>\n

From The National Center for Bicycling and Walking (http:\/\/www.bikewalk.org\/)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The design and planning of our communities plays a major part in our health and wellbeing. The consequences of sprawl are very serious for many reasons. Here\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just one: The Challenges in Health: Getting America Moving Again Physical inactivity is … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[8],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.townbranch.org\/info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.townbranch.org\/info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.townbranch.org\/info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.townbranch.org\/info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.townbranch.org\/info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=28"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.townbranch.org\/info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.townbranch.org\/info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=28"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.townbranch.org\/info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=28"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.townbranch.org\/info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=28"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}