Childhood Obesity and Cycling
17 July, 2008
In August 2007, the American Journal of Preventive Medicine published a study about the transportation trends among schoolchildren. Covering a period from 1969 to 2001, the study highlights a decrease in “active transportation.” For example, in 1969, almost 90 percent of kids who lived within one mile of school pedaled their way or walked. By 2001, the number of students biking or walking at least once per week dipped to 48 percent.
Trek Bicycle claims that “in 1964, 50% of kids rode to school and the obesity rate was 12%…in 2004, 3% rode to school and the obesity rate was 45%.”
Other research points out several “obstacles” that prevent greater participation in cycling. The more cars a family owns, the less likely the children are to ride bikes to school. The Associated Press, covering the story, added, “many suburban and rural areas are built without sidewalks, good crosswalks or other safety features.”
Perhaps most telling though, is the attitude of one Georgia mother, who claimed that it was too “uncool” for her son to ride a bike to school.
