What make boys and girls walk more

MELBOURNE, Dec. 29 (UPI) -- A study found boys in Australia are more likely to walk if they have accessible destinations, and girls are more likely to walk if they believe it's easy.

"Given that children spend much of their time in their local neighborhood, understanding influences on their physical activity in this setting is important," said study co-author Clare Hume of the Centre for Physical Activity and Nutrition Research at Deakin University in Australia.

Two hundred eighty Australian fifth-graders wore accelerometers for eight days so researchers could measure their overall physical activity, and they also reported their own weekly walking frequency.

Boys and girls walked an average of 6.4 times a week in their neighborhoods. More than 70 percent of children could walk to 15 destinations, including a park, school, friend's house, shopping center and recreational center. Eighty-five percent of children said it was easy and safe to walk or cycle around their neighborhoods. Almost 80 percent said they knew lots of people in the area and had friends living nearby.

Boys with more accessible destinations made about one extra walking trip every two weeks, while girls made three more trips if they felt their neighborhoods were easy to walk or cycle around.

The study appears in the January/February issue of the American Journal of Health Promotion.