Follow the trail toward improved health: to celebrate National Trails Day, walk the path toward linking trails with wellness.

As the United States comes to grips with the bad news that there is an epidemic of chronic health diseases brought on by obesity and overweight conditions in our adult and youth populations, there is a growing recognition that our nation's trails may offer a ready-made solution to improved health and wellness.

Despite the high health care costs and the incalculable damage to personal good health, the trends are that people in all parts of the country are becoming more overweight and obese rather than less. Policymakers, health experts and elected officials are just now attempting to develop comprehensive strategies to deal with this nationwide problem.

The facts about the true costs of obesity are piling up like the pounds around our waists: Nearly 400,000 deaths per year are associated with overweight conditions and inactive lifestyles, a shocking number that will soon eclipse even tobacco as the number one preventable cause of death. Almost 65 percent of Americans are considered overweight and 31 percent are considered obese. Overweight and obese conditions are leading to spikes in cardiovascular disease, type-2 diabetes, strokes and several types of cancer. Worse, 10-15 percent of kids age 6-17 are overweight, double what it was to years ago.

There is much hand wringing over the causes, but most are self-evident and self-inflicted. The American population has increased TV viewing, tends to drive rather than walk or bike, and neglects to eat healthy foods over fast food and fat-laden food. And coupled with a poor diet, a lack of physical activity is also compounding the problem. Seven in lo Americans are sedentary, and 40 percent are not active on a regular basis. A recent survey of 18 to 22-year-olds found that for the first time a number of young adults from this key demographic group would rather be online than outdoors.

The costs are staggering. Chronic diseases account for 75 percent of the $1 trillion spent on healthcare costs each year in the United States and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that in 2003 alone, well over $100 billion in health care costs can be directly attributable to obesity.

The good news is that there is one simple and almost universally beneficial prescription for treating overweight conditions--the simple act of walking. Study after study has demonstrated the incredible health benefits of walking. Walkers enjoy a 50 percent reduction in the risk of premature death; 50 percent less incidence of type-2 diabetes; 30-40 percent reduction in the risk of heart disease, and 20 percent reduction in the risk of stroke.

While the strategies for motivating people to walk for health are still emerging, it is clear that that trails can provide a place for people to get up, get out and get active. Trail walking, or hiking, is easy, free, and one of the most self-rewarding activities a person can do. Trails are suitable for all ages, family-friendly, convenient, open during all daylight hours and easy to get to from almost anywhere.

A landmark trail-users study was conducted by the Eppley Institute for Parks and Public Lands at Indiana University in 2001. Among the purposes of the study was to determine trail-users' and trail-neighbor's attitudes about trails in the community; the reasons people used trails (recreation, commuting, health/exercise); management factors; and economic impacts of trails.

A primary finding was that 70-90 percent of the trail users reported that they were exercising solely because of the presence of the trail nearby. According to Active Living Research, 43 percent of people with safe places to walk nearby met recommended activity levels, compared to 27 percent without sale trails. Further, 70 percent of respondents from five different communities said they visited their trails primarily for health and exercise.

Communities across the country are discovering that trails may hold the key to energizing their citizens to take charge of their health and begin the simple act that Call save their lives--to begin walking in their communities. Trails can measurably contribute to the health of a community, and in some communities, the benefits really do seem to be endless.

In Logansport, Ind., a local hospital foundation, a citizens environmental advocacy group and the local park and recreation department forged a unique partnership based on the notion that the best thing they could do for their community was to give it a trail for health.

Each year, the Logansport Memorial Hospital and its associated hospital foundation evaluates past performance and determines initiatives for the future. In 1999, the hospital and foundation decided that it would develop a new campaign to promote activities that supported health aim wellness in the community unlike any it had undertaken before--to raise nearly a million dollars for a trails-for-health initiative. "After meeting with employees from the hospital, the idea to provide a trail for health bubbled to the surface," says Becky Lowry, the vice president of Corporate Planning and Development for Logansport Memorial Hospital. The project came together after a local landowner offered to donate a 35-acre tract of land for public use, and at the same time the right-of-way for an abandoned railroad bed became available for purchase.

The confluence of the commitment of the hospital foundation, the availability of a trail right-of-way, and the gift of land from a nearby property owner mined the stars into alignment for this unique trails project. The project may not have come together, however, without the support of volunteers of the Little Turtle Waterway Corporation, a private non-profit organization incorporated to promote and protect the lands along the Wabash and Eel Rivers in Logansport, Ind.; the Logansport Parks and Recreation Department; and the Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance Program (RTCA) of the National Park Service, all of whom played pivotal roles in gaining community support for the goals of the project.

The Logansport Hospital is continuing to raise money for further expansion of the community trails, which shows Lowry that the community is behind the initiative.

"When you connect the dots between trails and health, people will support it," she says. "They want to live in a community where they can maintain a healthy lifestyle."

Major foundations have begun to support such community-wide efforts. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, based in Princeton, N.J., is the nation's largest philanthropy dedicated exclusively to health and health care, has made a number of grants to communities to begin initiatives to improve health. One of the first such projects undertaken in cooperation with the Rails to Trails Conservancy (RTC) and RTCA is the Wyoming Valley Wellness Trails Partnership, recognized by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation as one of the top 25 community partnership programs in the nation.

The construction of the Wyoming Valley Wellness Trails began in 1999 from a patchwork quilt of abandoned rail lines and river levees along the Susquehanna River near Wilkes-Barre, Penn. This aging, rust-belt community, faced with the results of surveys that showed a population that exercised less than the rest of the country and, not surprisingly, suffered from heart disease at a greater rate than most began a partnership of healthcare professionals, park and recreation employees and citizens that led to the creation of a network of trails that will eventually stretch more than 60 miles in length. Tapping into non-traditional networks of health care providers, social service agencies, and universities, the Wyoming Valley Wellness Trails Partnership developed a vibrant, community-based trails advocacy campaign for health benefits. "The health profession speaks a totally different language than we do," says Helen Mahan, who worked on the effort through RTCA. "It took more than a year to get the partnership tip and going, and we continue to work on various policy issues, health programs and the actual trails themselves, which are still being built."

A number of national organizations have promoted the benefits of walking and hiking for decades. The American Hiking Society (AHS), a nationwide consortium of more than 160 member organizations is devoted to "promoting and protecting foot trails and the hiking experience." AHS builds partnerships among outdoor organizations, public lands managers and individuals who hike. Its many programs, such as the Southern Appalachians Initiative (SAI), strengthen grassroots movements and help build a constituency among trail and hiking enthusiasts. The SAI is no small initiative, either. It envisions a 5,000 mile interconnected regional trail system linking local, regional, state and national recreation trails throughout the southeast from Florida to northern Virginia in a seamless network.

The American Hiking Society is also the primary organizer of National Trails Day, to be celebrated for the 12th time this year on Saturday, June 5. This annual event, held the first Saturday in June each year, is expected to draw more than one million participants to approximately 2,000 trail events nationwide. This year's focus is "Trails and Health--A Natural Connection." People interested in attending a local event should visit AHS's Web site at www.americanhiking.org to view a map that allows users to view locations and detailed information on National Trails Day events in their communities.

The Rails to Trails Conservancy (RTC) is perhaps one of the best known of the national trail advocacy organizations. RTC began in 1986 with the mission of "creating a nation wide network of public trails from former rail lines and connecting corridors." Today the organization has 100,000 members nationwide and a number of field offices in various states. RTC is a staunch advocate for the Transportation Enhancements, a program of the Federal Highway Administration that is the primary funding source for bike-ped and rail trail conversion projects in states and local communities. RTC is near completion of its "15,000-Mile Campaign," an effort to secure 15,000 miles of connected rail trails by the end of 2004. RTC is developing a new Regional Trails and Greenways initiative that is intended to make trails an integral component of smart growth planning and livable communities efforts. Jeff Ciabotti, the director of Trail Development of RTC says, "Because of the new awareness of health issues, communities around the country are starting to realize that their built infrastructure is not friendly to outdoor recreation and easy access to trails. These communities are actively looking to retrofit this infrastructure to enable the connections between communities and trails." He also points out that trails can be a tool to prevent health problems when they are combined with a good diet.

RTC has just released a report entitled "Creating Active Communities," which details 10 case studies of programs and partnerships from selected communities that implemented plans to encourage physical activity and better health outcomes. These case studies might spark ideas of how you can initiate similar programs in your own community. Among them are the Walk and Talk with the Mayor program of Bolivar, Mo.; the nationwide Safe Routes to School initiative, which is proposed for funding in the reauthorization of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st century; the highly successful Wheeling Walks program of Wheeling, W.V.; and the Broad Street Path to Health program of the South Providence Neighborhood Ministries in Providence, R.I. Each of these case studies can offer creative, innovative ideas of how you might be able to implement trails-for-health initiatives in your community. To view more of the "Creating Active Communities" report, go to www.railstrails.org.

One of the 10 best practices highlighted in the Creating Active Communities report is the highly successful Hearts N' Parks (HNP) program of the city of Phoenix, Ariz., Parks and Recreation Department. Hearts N' Parks is a national, community-based program supported by NRPA and the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Hearts N' Parks began in 1999 when pilot programs were started in cities and counties across the country, and now more than 50 communities are participating in the multi-year program. HNP encourages participants to strive for a healthy weight, exercise regularly, and then measure their success as well as their attitudes about future heart-healthy behavior.

The Phoenix Hearts N' Parks program is a partnership of the parks and recreation department and the Maricopa County Department of Public Health, which is primarily coordinated by the park rangers who have incorporated a number of heart-healthy activities in existing and new ranger-led programs. The Phoenix program is especially focused on integrating after-school programs with outdoor trail-related activities, but the program concentrates on family activities as well.

Kathy Spangler, director of National Partnerships for NRPA says, "I think the value of the Hearts N' Parks program to local communities has been tremendous. When we started, some communities had virtually no partnerships for health, and now they have 20 or 30 active partners."

Trails for Health is not just a trendy idea. It can be a lifeline for a community in need of improving the health and physical activity of its population. Those communities that recognize the danger--and the ultimate costs--of the sedentary behavior that is sapping the vitality of their community are starting to make the connection that the trails outside their door can be the path to lifelong good health.

Take the First Step

Wondering how your park and recreation department can create a link to health through trails? Take a leak at these communities who did just that:

Blanco County, Texas 

The Gem of the Hills Senior Citizens Community Center teamed up with the Citizens' Assembly of Blanco County Wheels & Feet Task Force to create a trail that would increase the wellness activities for seniors. This dual-loop trail will provide areas for nature enjoyment, birding and hiking, as well as link into a larger community trail that will bring children, shoppers and tourists through the Hill Country area.

North Quabbin, Mass.

Tully Trail takes hikers past a view of Tully Mountain, three waterfalls and a campsite on Tully Lake, but also gives them wellness opportunities. After the Tully Trail Partners (made up of community organizations) and NPS's Rivers & Trails program partnered with North Quabbin Regional Hospital, the word was out around town that trails mean healthy communities. Seventy volunteers completed the first leg of the 20-mile trail.

El Paso, Texas

A unique partnership between Texas Parks and Wildlife, the city of El Paso and El Paso Del Norte Health Foundation created what will be a path through the culture, history and nature of the Rio Grande River. The 9-mile River Park trail will lead residents of this urban area along a path to health, and could eventually link to a 57-mile trail throughout the county of El Paso.

Portage County, Wis.

Rather than just finding a trail to promote for health purposes, Green Circle Trail Association, the city of Stevens Point and the Centers for Disease Control created an entire initiative to support the trail. They made a guide for hikers to use that mapped out places to go, but also the benefits of walking the trail.

One of the questions that is yet to be answered is just how much the use of trails can contribute to measurable health outcomes, individually and community-wide. NRPA and a number of other organizations and associations are keenly interested in finding answers to this question, and if your agency or your community is beginning to implement any Trails for Health initiatives, NRPA would like to hear from you so that your successes may serve as a model for others. Contact Rich Dolesh at [e-mail] or [phone].