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| You are here: DOH Home » News Releases Home » 04-118 |
For immediate release: October 5, 2004 (04-118)
Contacts:
Mary Borges, SAFE KIDS Coalition
Coordinator 360-236-3606
Charlotte Claybrooke, Obesity and Physical Activity Program 360-236-3623
Deanna Whitman, Communications Office 360-236-4022
Stay healthy – walk to school
OLYMPIA ¾ You may notice more pedestrians on the streets tomorrow. Hundreds of thousands of students, parents and community leaders will be walking to school to promote health, safety and physical activity on international Walk to School Day, October 6.
The number of children who are obese has more than doubled over the past 20 years, and the number of children who walk to school has declined. "Physical inactivity plays a large role in becoming overweight or obese," said State Health Officer Dr. Maxine Hayes. "We are encouraging students to get regular daily physical activity by walking to school."
The 2002 Healthy Youth Survey found 10 percent of 10th graders in Washington are overweight, and another 13 percent are at risk of becoming overweight. That is about one in four high school children in our state with a weight problem.
Encourage your children to walk to school when possible, but make sure they do it safely:
Never allow a child under age 10 to cross streets alone; adult supervision is essential. Most children under the age of 10 will not have the necessary judgment and skills to fully understand traffic rules, concepts, distances or speeds.
Supervise children under 10 years old when they are around motor vehicles.
Teach and model proper pedestrian behavior; cross streets at a corner, using traffic signals and crosswalks whenever possible.
Make eye contact with drivers prior to crossing in front of them. Don’t assume that because you can see the driver, the driver can see you.
Teach children never to run into the street and to look left, right and left again when crossing a street and to continue looking as they cross.
Teach children to walk facing toward traffic, as far to the left as possible when sidewalks are not available.
Require children to wear retro-reflective materials and carry a flashlight at dawn and dusk and in other low-light situations, such as rain or fog.
The Washington State Department of Health, SAFE KIDS Coalitions, Fed Ex, Bicycle Alliance of Washington are some of the sponsors.
Find Walk to School Day events near you (http://www.doh.wa.gov/Publicat/2004_news/walk_to_school_list.doc). More information on Walk to School Day is available on the Washington State Department of Transportation Web site (http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Bike/Bike_Walk_to_School.htm). Information on obesity and physical activity is available on the Department of Health Web site (http://www.doh.wa.gov/cfh/NutritionPA/physical_activity.htm).
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