As long as humans have inhabited Earth, they have walked. A crucial aspect of a baby’s human development is learning to walk. This new found mobility expands the child’s universe, allowing new explorations of the world and the people in it. Common sense tells us that walking and running are normal and healthy activities for children.

Unfortunately, today too many children significantly decrease the amount of walking they do as they get older. They are driven in cars to school, the shopping mall and other places. As adults they may decrease their amount of walking even more as they drive to work and work in sedentary jobs.

The Surgeon General has indicated that inactivity and lack of exercise poses a significant health risk for people of all ages. Public health professionals are, therefore, very interested in getting more people more active more often. The activity likely to get the most people involved, with an accompanying positive effect on their health, is walking. This is because walking is natural, simple, causes little stress on the body, requires no expensive equipment or extensive training and is something most people do every day. It can be done by a child or a senior citizen recovering from a heart attack. Explore the web sites below that give more detail on the connection between walking and health.

Surgeon General's Report on Physical Acitivity and Health- Look at the entire report or look at a summary of the report showing that phycial activity, such as walking, can reduce the risk of developing or dying from many of the leading diseases in the U.S. including heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, colon cancer, etc.
Walking Benefits- A great set of links on the health benefits of walking even though some of the web sites are commercial.
Mylifepath- Walking- A large set of links (mainly articles) on walking and health.
Physical Activity In Your Daily Life- Good information from the American Heart Association on how to incorporate physical activity, including walking, into your daily life.
Health Steps- This site is designed to assist you in starting a walking program and in tracking your daily "walkouts".
The Pedestrian Environment And The Nation's Health- A fact sheet from the Center for Disease Control about the important role of the pedestrian environment in promoting the health of adults and children.
Women walk 'briskly' for health- Article from AARP Bulletin about a recent study on walking and heart disease in women
A press release from the Center for Disease Control regarding their research (published October 27, 1999 in the Journal of the American Medical Association) on Americans' increase in obesity and decrease of physical activity. Related articles from the Dallas Morning News and the Atlanta Journal and Constitution.
A study mentioned on Reuters Health Information shows that building new public walking trails may be entice more people to get out and exercise and may be especially beneficial to women and low-income individuals.