DOT Federal Highway Administration, 2011). That limits the sample size to only those persons with home telephones (U.S. All counts of trips made by bicycle and walking 10 minutes or longer were summed and divided by the total trip counts for each state.Ī limitation to these data is that the survey is conducted via telephone. Trip counts by mode for trip time ranges of 0-4, 4-9, 10-19, 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, and 50+ minutes were downloaded into tables. Data were categorized by state, household location, transportation mode used on trip as reported by respondent, and derived trip time in minutes. State data for annual number of trips by transportation mode by derived trip time were downloaded and sorted using the NHTS online Table Designer tool. The NHTS is the most widely used tool to track progress toward the Healthy People 2020 targets for walking and cycling trips (CDC, 2010). Overall, there is a significant 12% reduction in mortality associated with active transportation (Samitz, et al., 2011), and there is an 11% reduction in risk of cardiovascular disease associated with active transportation (Hamer, et. Walking or bicycling as a form of transportation or walking to public transportation stations, such as bus stops, also count toward meeting the daily physical activity recommendations (Freeland et al., 2013 Besser, Dannenberg, 2005). Department of Health and Human Services, 2008). Research shows, however, that activity accumulated in several bouts, a minimum of 10 minutes at a time, has similar health effects (U.S. Many people struggle to find the time for physical activity, especially if they aim for one continuous 30-minute bout of exercise.

Department of Health and Human Services released the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, which recommends that adults aged 18 to 64 engage in at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity aerobic physical activity each week (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2010). adults achieving this recommended level of physical activity (Troiano et al., 2008), Healthy People 2020 identified “increasing the number of trips made by walking and bicycling” as a target for improving the health of the U.S. Surgeon General in 1996 released a report entitled Physical Activity and Health, recommending 30 minutes per day of moderate-intensity physical activity (Scmidt, Biwer, Kalscheuer, 2001). Responding to evidence of the health benefits of physical activity, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1996). Research suggests that physically active adults “have lower rates of all-cause mortality, coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, colon cancer, breast cancer, and depression” than their physically inactive peers (U.S. The connections between physical activity and public health have been widely documented. Integrate health and transportation planningĪctive transportation allows people to be active throughout the day and potentially improve their health.Expand bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure.Encourage and promote biking and walking.Built environment strategies to deter crime.Data come from the 2009 National Household Travel Survey (NHTS). Walking or bicycling for sustained periods helps people get enough physical activity to stay healthy. Physical activity from transportation measures the percentage of all trips made by foot or by bicycle that are at least 10 minutes long.