Kids today walk more

They might have access to all things technological, but this hasn't put a hold on the walking.

They might have access to all things technological, but this hasn't put a hold on the walking power of today's children if a new study conducted by Lancaster University researchers is to be believed.

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The research conducted by Professor Colin Pooley and his colleagues was based on detailed questionnaires and in-depth life history interviews with 156 respondents in four age categories, ranging from 10/11 to 60 years of age. Taped interviews of 160 hours and data on over 895,000 individual trips were collected.

The study found that walking still accounts for 60 percent of all trips by 10/11 year olds in the Manchester and Lancaster urban areas.

Despite a predictable increase in car use, walking and buses remained important in the case of 17/18 year olds and accounted for over 75 percent of all trips in each town.

For children aged 10/11, both the total distance travelled and the average trip length increased slightly, but the mean time spent travelling declined a little. The proportion of 10/11-year-olds allowed to travel around unaccompanied declined, but even today, over 50 percent of trips are undertaken without an adult.