Walkable Communities and Fitness (#127)

Original Air Date: Monday, January 7, 2008

Health experts say that 30 minutes of walking a day is as important as an apple in “keeping the doctor away.” Exercise can be life-enhancing even for those few among us who aren’t overweight. How do we keep enticing and encouraging ourselves to get up and stay in shape?

This episode of The Iowa Journal asks these questions to fitness consultant Tim Lane, of the Iowa Department of Public Health. The show also looks at how corporate incentives play roles in a healthy community. Mark Fenton, of the PBS program, “Keep America Walking” joins us to speak about planning our communities for health by building mixed purpose communities that encourage walking and biking. And, our attention turns to Ames, Iowa, where a “Walking School Bus” takes kids safely to and from their schools as part of a National Department of Transportation project.