Happy Trails Make Healthy Hikers

Community hiking trails, the latest architectural trend in planned communities, may be a first step toward improved health for all those who can afford trendy housing. The Scientific American reports that a new study conducted by researchers at the University of Utah found that adults who frequently used trails in their community were much more
likely to also report regular physical activity than those who did not
use trails. Sciam reports that the researchers asked 3,717 adults across the country about their physical
activity level, how often they used walking, biking or hiking trails
and the extent to which they supported municipal policies that favored
the development of trails. Most men and women said they rarely or never
used a trail. However, 23 percent of women and 25 percent of men said
they used a trail at least once a week, the researchers report. More
than a third (34 percent) of survey participants who were regularly
active also said they used a trail at least once a week, study findings
indicate. In fact, these regular exercisers were more than twice as
likely to use trails as those who were classified as inactive. Read more in the Scientific American.