On Your Feet, Kids.

• Position: Brief Article

Remember walking five miles to school each day, in 10 feet of snow, up hill...both ways. An exaggeration? Maybe, but do you remember when school children walked and rode bicycles to school, friends' houses, the park and the store?

Unfortunately, young people today are not as free to walk and play outdoors. Many of our communities have been designed to be convenient for cars, not for bike riders or pedestrians. And in this fast-paced, automotive age, there is greater concern about children being crime victims, as well as pedestrian injuries.

At the same time, the number of overweight kids has more than doubled. Recess and physical education are being reduced in many schools, and after-school activities often involve a computer or a television. So the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) say it is more important than ever that kids at least get the exercise of walking to and from school.

The Division of Nutrition and Physical Activity at the CDC developed the Kids Walk-to-School program guide to promote physically active travel, safe...