Friday October 4th is National Walk to Work Day. As part of CQU’s 10,000 Steps research project, Rockhampton residents are encouraged to walk-to-work today.

Although Rockhampton does not suffer from major traffic congestion or pollution, residents do suffer from a mechanised lifestyle with over 50% of men and 64% of women not meeting the national guidelines of 150 minutes of physical activity per week to ensure long-term health benefits.

Walking to work or the shops is active, as opposed to passive transportation. In terms of active transportation, Dr. Kerry Mummery of School of Health & Human Performance, points out that in Rockhampton:.

- only 20% of residents walk to work or the shops at least once per week; - 28% of all car trips are less than 2 kilometres, or a 30 minute walk.

No matter where you live or work Active Transport is cost efficient, according to Kerry. In Australian the cost of running a single car consumes more than 10% of the household income (before tax –substantially more in after tax dollars). The NRMA says it costs approximately $9760 a year to operate a car. Meanwhile the cost of operating a bicycle is $120 per year. And the cost of walking is a good pair of shoes.

Environmental barriers to physical activity also prevent people from participating. But with some careful planning any community can overcome that.

Currently there are a number of Environmental Barriers to walking reported by Rockhampton residents. Recent data show that: - 64 % of residents report heavy traffic/busy streets; - 54 % of residents report poor street lighting; - 46 % of people reported that dogs frighten people who walk in their neighbourhood; - 29 % of residents report footpaths in poor condition; - 21 % report a lack of open spaces to walk.

“The principal barrier, though, to physical activity involvement remains the perception of a lack of time,” says Kerry. Although it is often difficult to set aside time for things such as physical activity or exercise, it is important to make it a priority.

A minimum of five 30 minute walks per week are recommended for long-term health and well-being benefits.

10,000 Steps Rockhampton is a community-wide project to encourage regular physical activity in everyone's lives. The CQU project is funded for two years by Queensland Health as part of its Health Promoting Queensland strategy.