Walk more, live better.
That's according to a 10-year study just published in the journal Social Science & Medicine, which found that:
- for every local shop, residents' physical activity increased an extra 5-6 minutes of walking per week
- for every recreational facility available such as a park or beach, residents' physical activity increased by an extra 21 minutes per week
"This means that where there is an environment that supports walking with access to multiple facilities residents walked much more," said Professor Giles-Corti, the study's author.
His work examined the impact of urban planning on active living in metropolitan Perth, Western Australia. He surveyed more than 1,400 participants building homes in new housing developments before relocation to new homes and approximately 12 months later.
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