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 www http://www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns

More People Walk 

to Better Health

More than 145 million adults now include 

walking as part of a physically active 

lifestyle. More than 6 in 10 people walk for 

transportation or for fun, relaxation, or 

exercise, or for activities such as walking the 

dog. The percentage of people who report 

walking at least once for 10 minutes or more 

in the previous week rose from 56% (2005) to 

62% (2010).

Physical activity helps control weight, but it has 

other benefits. Physical activity such as walking 

can help improve health even without weight 

loss. People who are physically active live 

longer and have a lower risk for heart disease, 

stroke, type 2 diabetes, depression, and some 

cancers. Improving spaces and having safe 

places to walk can help more people become 

physically active.

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Walking is the most 

popular aerobic physical 

activity. About 6 in 10 

adults reported walking 

for at least 10 minutes in 

the previous week.

Adults who walk for 

transportation, fun, or exercise 

went up 6 percent in 5 years.

48%

About half of all adults get 

enough aerobic physical activity* 

to improve their health.

6 in 10

6%

*Aerobic activities like brisk walking, running, swimming and 

bicycling make you breathe harder and make your heart and 

blood vessels healthier.

National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion 

Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity

August 2012
Problem

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Americans need more 

physical activity

1. Less than half of all adults get the 

recommended amount of physical 

activity.

◊ Adults need at least 2 and 1/2 hours (150 

minutes) a week of aerobic physical activity. 

This should be at a moderate level, such as a 

fast-paced walk for no less than 10 minutes 

at a time.

◊ Women and older adults are not as likely 

to get the recommended level of weekly 

physical activity. 

◊ Inactive adults have higher risk for early 

death, heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, 

depression, and some cancers.

◊ Regular physical activity helps people get 

and keep a healthy weight.

◊ Walkable communities result in more 

physical activity.

2. More people are walking, but just how 

many depends on where they live, their 

health, and their age.

◊ The West and Northeast regions have the 

highest percentage of adults who walk in the 

country, but the South showed the largest 

percent increase of adults who walk compared 

to the other regions. 

◊ More adults with arthritis or high blood 

pressure are now walking, but not those with 

type 2 diabetes.

◊ Walking increased among adults 65 or older, 

but less than in other age groups.

3. People need safe, convenient places to 

walk.

◊ People are more likely to walk and move about 

more when they feel protected from traffic and 

safe from crime and hazards.

• Maintaining surfaces can keep people who 

walk from falling and getting hurt. This also 

helps wheelchairs and strollers and is safer 

for people with poor vision.

◊ People need to know where places to walk 

in their communities exist that are safe and 

convenient.

◊ Walking routes in and near neighborhoods 

encourage people to walk to stops for buses, 

trains, and trolleys. 

The Guide to Community Preventive Services recommends: 

• Creating more places for physical activity with information and outreach that 

lets people know where these are.

• Considering walkability in community design .

• Using community-wide campaigns to provide health education and social 

support for physical activity.To see the full recommendations: 

http://www.thecommunityguide.org/pa/index.html
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Within 

1 mile

Within 

1 mile

Within 

3-4 miles

Within 

3-4 miles

Within 

1 mile

Within 

1 mile

Within 

3-4 miles

Within 

3-4 miles

1%

46%

1%

40%

1%

35%

5%

60%

% of Trips to Work 

by Walking

•Within 1 miles - 35% 

•Within 3-4 miles – 1%

% of Trips to School or 

Church by Walking

•Within 1 mile – 46%

•Within 3-4 miles – 1%

% of Trips to Shops 

by Walking

•Within 1 mile - 40% 

•Within 3-4 miles - 1%

% of Trips for Social or 

Recreational Fun 

by Walking

•Within 1 mile - 60% 

•Within 3-4 miles - 5%

Percentage of adults

who walk for physical activity

to get to places they want to go 

when places are nearby.

People walk

SOURCE: USDOT, Federal Highway Administration, 

2009 National Household Travel Survey.

0 20 40 60 80 100 0 20 40 60 80 100

White, non-Hispanic 18-24 years

Black, non-Hispanic

Hispanic

Other race

Needs help to walk

Does not need

help to walk

25-34 years

35-44 years

45-64 years

65+ years

2005

2010

2005

2010

SOURCE: CDC National Health Interview Survey, 2005, 2010. 
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 www http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr

 www http://www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns

For more information, please contact 

Telephone: 1-800-CDC-INFO (232-4636)

TTY: 1-888-232-6348

E-mail: cdcinfo@cdc.gov

Web: www.cdc.gov

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

1600 Clifton Road NE, Atlanta, GA 30333

Publication date: 08/08/2012

What Can Be Done

US government is

◊ Working with partners to carry out the 

National Prevention Strategy to make physical 

activity easier where people live, work, 

and play www.healthcare.gov/prevention/

nphpphc/strategy/index.html.

◊ Helping people get active through programs 

like Community Transformation Grants and 

Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity 

state programs www.cdc.gov/obesity/

stateprograms/cdc.html, and by working with 

partners like Safe Routes to Schools 

www.saferoutespartnership.org/.

◊ Studying ways that communities can make it 

easy and convenient for people to be 

more active.

State and local government can

◊ Considering walking when creating long-range 

community plans.

◊ Consider designing local streets and roadways 

that are safe for people who walk and other 

road users.

◊ Consider opportunities to let community 

residents use local school tracks or gyms after 

classes have finished.

◊ Make sure existing sidewalks and walking 

paths are kept in good condition, well lit and 

free of problems such as snow, rocks, trash, 

and fallen tree limbs.

◊ Promote walking paths with signs that are easy 

to read, and route maps that the public can 

easily find and use.

Employers can

◊ Create and support walking programs 

for employees. 

◊ Identify walking paths around or near the 

work place and promote them with signs 

and route maps.

◊ Provide places at work to shower or change 

clothes, when possible.

Individuals can

◊ Start a walking group with friends 

and neighbors.

◊ Help others walk more safely by driving the 

speed limit and yielding to people who walk.

◊ Use crosswalks and crossing signals when 

crossing streets and not jaywalk.

◊ Participate in local planning efforts that 

identify best sites for walking 

paths andsidewalks.

◊ Work with parents and schools to encourage 

children to walk to school where safe.

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