Many factors contribute to the reduction in children walking and bicycling to school. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) conducted a nationwide survey of parents to find out the most common barriers that prevented them from allowing their children to walk to school. Parents of children aged 5 to 18 years cited one or more of the following six barrier reasons: Barrier Reason
Percentage of parents identifying with the barrier
Distance to school:
61.5
Traffic-related danger:
30.4
Weather:
18.6
Crime danger:
11.7
Opposing school policy:
6.0
Other reasons (not identified):
15.0
While this CDC report is from 2005, a report from the National Center for Safe Routes to School in 2010 found that these barriers remain the same. - National Center for Safe Routes to School. (2015) SRTS Guide – The Decline in Walking and Bicycling
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HEALTH RISKS The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends that children do 60 minutes (1 hour) or more of physical activity each day and that the bulk of this physical activity comes through aerobic exercise, such as walking and bicycling. For children and adolescents, regular physical activity helps build and maintain healthy bones and muscles, reduces the risk of developing obesity and chronic diseases, reduces feelings of depression and anxiety and promotes psychological well-being.
Despite these benefits, many children are not getting adequate physical activity. In the 2014 United States Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth, the National Physical Activity Plan Alliance reports that only 24.8 percent of youth ages 12-15 years obtain 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity every day. A 2014 CDC study reports that during the school day, only 4 percent of elementary schools and 8 percent of middle/junior high schools provide daily physical education classes, and in 2012 only 58.9% of all school districts required that elementary schools
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National Center for Safe Routes to School. SRTS Guide – The Decline in Walking and Bicycling. 2015. Available at http://guide.saferoutesinfo.org/introduction/the_decline_of_walking_and_bicycling.cfm. Accessed on December 22, 2015.
Chapter 2: About Safe Routes to School (SRTS) | P a g e 21
