Walking With Purpose

Talk about a step in the right direction!

The Ventura County schools that joined hundreds of others across America last week for National Walk to School Day were taking a path that could help reduce such problems as school-day traffic jams, air pollution, youth obesity and the effects of cutbacks in physical education classes.

Schools in Moorpark, Simi Valley, Oxnard and Ojai participated in the annual event, which encourages parents to leave their cars at home and walk or bicycle with their children to school. This gives parents an opportunity to teach their children safe pedestrian behavior and to accompany students to make sure they take safe routes to school, organizers say.

The twice-a-day habit of walking or biking from home to school would be one good antidote to a disturbing trend toward overweight kids. According to a report released last month by the California Department of Health Services, a 1998 telephone survey of more than 1,200 12- to 17-year-olds found that nearly one-third of the youths were overweight or on the verge of being so. Half of them reported eating no vegetables the day before; one-third had consumed at least one fast-food meal.

Nationwide, particularly in the last decade, both children and adults have gotten fatter. The percentage of children deemed overweight has doubled since the mid-1970s. Studies have shown that certain chronic diseases related to nutrition and weight are striking people younger, even in childhood. Type II diabetes is particularly worrisome among African Americans, Latinos and Native Americans.

As eating habits grow less healthy and kids spend more time immobilized by TV, video games and computer use, many are getting less exercise than their growing bodies require. In California high schools, physical education is required only two out of four years.

Although excessive concern about body image can lead to serious ills such as anorexia, bulimia and low self-esteem, especially among girls, we believe the regular exercise of walking or biking to school would be a healthy addition to the daily routine of many Ventura County kids.

It’s true that not all Ventura County students live close enough to walk or bike to school or have safe routes to travel. But many more could than do, and we hope this event will inspire parents and kids to sit down together and discuss whether it’s a possibility for them.

Better yet, talk it over while taking a walk.