Opportunities Abound for Moving Around
Get Active, Wherever You Are
\n ![\"Illustration](\"http://newsinhealth.nih.gov/files/may2015/images/feature1.jpg\")
\n You know that physical activity can help you live a longer, healthier life. But did you know you don\u2019t need to join a gym or use costly equipment to be physically active? No matter where you live, work, or go to school, you can find ways to move more and sit less throughout your day. In addition to helping your health, you might have fun without spending a lot of money.
\nMoving more and sitting less can reduce your risk for many serious conditions, including heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, and certain kinds of cancer. Some studies suggest that physical activity can have mental benefits as well, helping to relieve depression and maintain thinking abilities as you age. Healthful physical activity includes exercise as well as many everyday activities, such as doing active chores around the house, yard work, or walking the dog.
\nActivities that cause you to breathe harder are called aerobic activities. These make your heart and blood vessels healthier. Aerobic activities include brisk walking, dancing, swimming, and playing basketball. Strengthening activities, like push-ups and lifting weights, help make your muscles and bones stronger and can also improve your balance.
\nBut even though many of us know that physical activity is a good thing, most adults nationwide don\u2019t meet even the minimum recommended amounts of physical activity. (That\u2019s at least 30 minutes of brisk walking or other moderate activity, 5 days a week.)
\nWhy aren\u2019t we more active? \u201cLack of time is a common reason for not exercising,\u201d says Dr. Mary Evans, an NIH expert on physical activity and nutrition. \u201cAnother important factor is location\u2014having safe places to walk and engage in different activities. That can mean having sidewalks, public parks with well-lit walking paths, a shopping mall where you can walk, or other features that can make activity inviting and easy to do.\u201d
\nNIH-funded research has found that your environment\u2014where you live, work, or go to school\u2014can have a big impact on how much you move and even how much you weigh.
\nSome communities don\u2019t have safe playgrounds or sidewalks, so kids tend to spend their free time indoors. Sitting instead of moving makes it hard to maintain a healthy weight. Many adults sit behind the wheel driving to work and then sit most of the day at a computer, taking few breaks to stand up and move around. In suburban neighborhoods, people often have to drive rather than walk to get to grocery stores, shops, and even public transportation.
\n\u201cOur environments have become less friendly to being active. But studies show that people will walk more if the environment provides them with opportunities to do so,\u201d says Dr. Brian E. Saelens, a health psychologist and behavioral scientist at the University of Washington in Seattle. \u201cHow close are you to a library? Can you walk to a store? Is there a safe path for walking to school? All of these factors affect how active we are each day.\u201d
\nHaving places to walk and have fun can help more people get moving and active. \u201cIt\u2019s not just dangerous neighborhoods, broken streets, and crime that can keep people indoors and away from being physically active,\u201d says Dr. Allen Glicksman, director of research at the Philadelphia Corporation for Aging. \u201cWe\u2019ve also found that, from ages 18 to 80, if a neighborhood has someplace nice to walk to\u2014desirable destinations like a book store, grocery store, coffee shop, a place to eat or meet\u2014it can have a healthful effect on how much people weigh and how much they walk.\u201d
\nResearch also shows that taking public transportation\u2014like buses and trains\u2014can help boost activity. In a recent Seattle-area study, Saelens and colleagues found that people tend to add about 15 minutes of activity to their day when they take public transportation, in part by walking to and from the mass transit site instead of taking a car from door to door. \u201cThat\u2019s half the recommended amount of physical activity added to their day,\u201d Saelens says.
\nHaving opportunities to connect with others can also have a positive effect. \u201cMany people are more likely to walk if they\u2019ve got one or more buddies to walk with,\u201d Glicksman says. \u201cWhen you think about what brings people together, what brings people out and active, the answer can vary depending on your community.\u201d In urban Philadelphia, Glicksman and others have found that neighborhood features like access to public transportation, better bus shelters, and even murals in some neighborhoods seem to encourage more physical activity.
\nWhen community gardens were created for older adults in Philadelphia, Glicksman says, \u201cwe wanted people to garden to help them eat fresh foods and get them out and moving in the nice weather.\u201d When younger adults joined in as well, the gardens had the added bonus of connecting people across generations. The older adults acted as gardening mentors, while the younger people helped with heavy lifting and digging. \u201cBringing people together is not only a way to encourage more activity; it\u2019s also a way to get people thinking about how we can change our neighborhoods for the good.\u201d
\nSo take a look around your neighborhood, your workplace, or your school. Can you think of changes that might make the surroundings more inviting for walking or exercise?
\n\u201cConsider: How can we change our environment so activity is an easier choice for us to make?\u201d Saelens says. In many communities, people have gotten together to organize activities and improve their environments to encourage more physical activity. Steps might include improving local parks, requesting safe and usable bike paths and sidewalks, or asking for more physical activity and healthier meals at schools. If you have some ideas for improving your surroundings, discuss them with your neighbors or local leaders.
\nAlthough your environment can affect how active you are, you can still look for new ways to use the world around you to add some movement to your day.
\n\u201cIf you\u2019re at work, try climbing the stairs instead of using the elevator. And get up from your chair and move around at least once an hour,\u201d Evans says. Stand up and walk to a colleague\u2019s office instead of sending an email. Try standing instead of sitting when you\u2019re on the phone, or have \u201cwalking\u201d meetings with co-workers instead of sitting in a conference room. And take a brisk walk on your lunch break to get some activity in.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s not really necessary to engage in vigorous physical activity like running to have beneficial health effects. Just 30 minutes of brisk walking most days, in at least 10-minute segments, can have a positive effect,\u201d Evans says.
\n\u201cWe have to look for opportunities to fit physical activity into our days,\u201d Saelens adds. \u201cSome people love to put on their sneakers and to go to the gym, and that\u2019s great for them, but it\u2019s not the only way to get active.\u201d
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References: Relation between higher physical activity and public transit use. Saelens BE, Vernez Moudon A, Kang B, Hurvitz PM, Zhou C. Am J Public Health. 2014 May;104(5):854-9. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2013.301696. Epub 2014 Mar 13. PMID: 24625142.
\nIs \"Walkability\" A Useful Concept for Gerontology? Glicksman A, Ring L, Kleban MH, Hoffman C. J Hous Elderly. 2013 Apr 1;27(1-2):241-254. PMID: 23729951.
\nNeighborhood built environment and income: examining multiple health outcomes.
Sallis JF, Saelens BE, Frank LD, Conway TL, et al. Soc Sci Med. 2009 Apr;68(7):1285-93. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2009.01.017. Epub 2009 Feb 18. PMID: 19232809.
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