Walking

Walking is available to almost everyone for free; only 4% of people in Britain either need help when walking outside the home or are unable to walk on their own.

Yet the number of walking trips are declining, with a 20% reduction in the number of trips between 1993-2003. With the number of people walking to work also reducing over a similar period, maybe the Government is right to encourage people to walk more?

The Health Education Authority recommends 30 minutes of brisk walking per day and the ideal time to build this exercise into your day is on the journey to and from work. Most journeys by foot are less than a mile and as so many people live and work in Torbay, there should be ample opportunity to build a bit of walking into your daily routine.

Regular walking has significant health benefits, which in turn can benefit businesses and the economy by reducing sick absence and health care costs. The most at risk groups are males with a company car who walk less than 131 miles per year. Women are better at walking to work than their male counterparts with double the number of women walking to work than men.

Our children are now following in our footsteps – or rather lack of them – with child obesity rates rising and fewer and fewer children walking to school. More parents drive their children to primary or secondary school than ever before.

According to National Statistics 2004, 1994 to 2004 saw a 9% drop in the number of children walking to school and a corresponding increase in children taken to school by car; yet 79% of primary school children live less than 2 miles from school. When surveyed, 80% of children taken to school by car would rather walk.

It is recognised that the main reason people cut their short car journeys is to exercise more. To help you re-gain or improve your fitness, leave your car at home for short journeys or get in touch with the Torbay Coast and Countryside Trust about their Bay Walks programme. Follow the link on this page and find out more about how you can increase your activity and get to enjoy the beautiful scenery Torbay has to offer.