Rising car ownership discouraging walking

New Delhi: More and more Indians are using cars to travel distances which are short enough to walk. 

    A survey across 13 countries has found that 13% Indian men and 15% women use vehicles for trips that could be covered on foot. In countries like the UK, Australia, New Zealand and Saudi Arabia this figure, however, rises to around one in five. 
    Globally, the number of people walking is in decline. 
    The study says that rising car ownership in India is discouraging walking, while in China the reduction in walking has seen an increase in obesity levels among drivers. 
    The proportion of children walking or cycling to school fell from 48% to 13% between 1969 and 2009 in the United States, and from 62% to 50% between 1989 and 2004 among primary-school children in the UK. 
    Doctors say walking just an extra 15 minutes a day can extends human life by up to three years. A recent study of 400,000 people found that every additional 15 minutes of daily exercise, such as brisk walking, reduced premature death rates by a further 4%. 
    Even slow walking burns around 114 calories per mile for someone weighing 91kg. Researchers in US have found that each extra km walked per day was associated with a 4.8% reduction in an individual's probability of becoming obese, whereas each hour spent driving was linked to a 6% increase in an individual's probability of becoming obese. 
    The study by Max Bupa says, "Cars are often used for very short journeys that could be walked. In the US, cars are used for 55% of trips of one-third of a mile (half a km) in length and 85% of trips that are two-thirds of a mile (1 km) in length. A car journey of one mile (1.6 km) emits around 574g of carbon dioxide — twice as much as the average emission of 287g of carbon dioxide per mile on longer journeys." 
    Reducing motor vehicle use decreases air pollution levels, which can have significant benefits for health. 
    The study says that pollution can be particularly harmful to the health of children and older adults, and a strong relationship has been shown between levels of airborne particles, sulphur dioxide and other fossil fuel emissions, and risk of early death from heart disease and respiratory illnesses such as allergies, asthma and lung cancer. 
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