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The Importance of Walking as a Family

the-importance-of-walking-as-a-family

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The whole family is stronger together than each person on their own. Each family member affects the others, and this can even shape future generations.1 Families help shape what we believe, how we treat others, how we think, and how we take care of our health.2 This is important to keep in mind for both healthy and unhealthy behaviors.

Families and physical inactivity

Only 23.6% of adolescents3, and only 28% of adults4, currently meet physical activity recommendations. Families can get used to doing activities that don’t involve much movement. These can include watching TV, using phones or tablets, playing on computers, or using video game systems.

School-aged children in Texas currently spend a large percentage of time in sedentary activities outside of school. The table below shows the percentage of 2nd, 4th, 8th, and 11th grade students who spent four or more hours on screen-based devices outside of school time.5 These specific grade levels were surveyed because children are at specific stages of development during those years of life.5

Time spent in sedentary activities for 4+ hours outside of school 

Grade Level 

Television 

Computer 

Videogames 

2nd 

6.2% 

18.9% 

2.3% 

4th 

23.6% 

38.8% 

25.3% 

8th 

23.6% 

62.8% 

23.3% 

11th 

23.1% 

73.4% 

17.1% 

Parents often accompany their younger children during the use of screen time,6 meaning that the entire family is not being physically active, putting them at greater risk for obesity, high blood pressure, poor cholesterol, and poor heart health.7-10

Benefits of walking as a family

1. Health benefits

Walking is an easy activity that can help prevent many chronic diseases and conditions,11,12 or manage symptoms,12 among both children and adults, including:

  • Brain and mental health
    • Children – improved cognition and reduced risk of depression13
    • Adults – less likely to develop dementia6 and reduced risk of depression13
  • Bone, Muscle, and Joint Health
    • Children – increase bone strength14
    • Adults – decrease the risk of osteoporosis and increase bone strength14
  • Cardiovascular Health
    • Children – greater cardiovascular health and reduced risk of stiffening of arteries15
    • Adults – reduced risk of cardiovascular disease16
  • Type 2 Diabetes
    • Children – can help with management of body weight and blood sugar17
    • Adults – reduced risk for Type 2 Diabetes, reduced body fat, improved blood lipid levels, and enhanced insulin sensitivity18
  • Cancers
    • Children and adults – reduced risk of cancer and management of symptoms19-23

2. Positive influence

Families that walk together can have a positive influence on the walking habits of each member of the family. For example, parents and children who were active together had a similar number of steps each day and overall physical activity levels.24-26 Additionally, walking together can reduce the amount of time the family spends being physically inactive in front of screens and technology.27

3. Family relationship

Families that are able to communicate with each other in positive ways and make time for the family to communicate are strong28-30. Strong families also provide support, share their free time, and spend time together as a family.28-30 Finding time to walk with your family creates a time for you to be together and communicate, not only to make you physically stronger, but also strengthen your family relationships.

For more information, consider reading the following SYNC articles:

References

  1. Laszloffy, T. A. (2002). Rethinking family development theory: Teaching with the systemic family development (SFD) model. Family Relations, 51(3), 206-214.
  2. Michaelson, V., Pilato, K. A., and Davison, C. M. (2021). Family as a health promotion setting: A scoping review of conceptual models of the health-promoting family. PLoS ONE, 16(4): e0249707. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0249707
  3. Healthy People 2030. Increase the proportion of children who do enough aerobic physical activity – PA-09. https://health.gov/healthypeople/objectives-and-data/browse-objectives/physical-activity/increase-proportion-children-who-do-enough-aerobic-physical-activity-pa-09
  4. Abildso CG, Daily SM, Umstattd Meyer MR, Perry CK, Eyler A. Prevalence of Meeting Aerobic, Muscle-Strengthening, and Combined Physical Activity Guidelines During Leisure Time Among Adults, by Rural-Urban Classification and Region — United States, 2020. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2023;72:85–89. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7204a1
  5. School Physical Activity and Nutrition Survey. SPAN Data Explorer. Retrieved on 04 Sep. 2025. https://span-interactive.sph.uth.edu
  6. Konca, A. S. (2022). Digital technology usage of young children: Screen time and families. Early Childhood Education Journal, 50(7), 1097-1108.
  7. Altenburg, T. M., Lakerveld, J., Bot, S. D., Nijpels, G., & Chinapaw, M. J. (2014). The prospective relationship between sedentary time and cardiometabolic health in adults at increased cardiometabolic risk–the Hoorn Prevention Study. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 11(1), 90.
  8. Brocklebank, L. A., Falconer, C. L., Page, A. S., Perry, R., & Cooper, A. R. (2015). Accelerometer-measured sedentary time and cardiometabolic biomarkers: A systematic review. Preventive medicine, 76, 92-102.
  9. Shuval, K., Finley, C. E., Barlow, C. E., Gabriel, K. P., Leonard, D., & Kohl III, H. W. (2014, August). Sedentary behavior, cardiorespiratory fitness, physical activity, and cardiometabolic risk in men: the cooper center longitudinal study. In Mayo Clinic Proceedings (Vol. 89, No. 8, pp. 1052-1062). Elsevier.
  10. Stamatakis, E., Hamer, M., Tilling, K., & Lawlor, D. A. (2012). Sedentary time in relation to cardio-metabolic risk factors: differential associations for self-report vs accelerometry in working age adults. International journal of epidemiology, 41(5), 1328-1337.
  11. Mayo Clinic. “Depression and Anxiety: Exercise Eases Symptoms.” Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 23 Dec. 2023, www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/depression/in-depth/depression-and-exercise/art-20046495.
  12. Mayo Clinic. “Exercise and Chronic Disease: Get the Facts.” Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 14 Jan. 2023, www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/in-depth/exercise-and-chronic-disease/art-20046049.
  13. 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee. (2018). 2018 physical activity guidelines advisory committee scientific report.
  14. Morris, J. N., & Hardman, A. E. (1997). Walking to health. Sports medicine, 23(5), 306-332.
  15. Proudfoot, N. A., King-Dowling, S., Cairney, J., Bray, S. R., MacDonald, M. J., & Timmons, B. W. (2019). Physical activity and trajectories of cardiovascular health indicators during early childhood. Pediatrics, 144(1), e20182242.
  16. Boone‐Heinonen, J., Evenson, K. R., Taber, D. R., & Gordon‐Larsen, P. (2009). Walking for prevention of cardiovascular disease in men and women: a systematic review of observational studies. Obesity Reviews, 10(2), 204-217.
  17. “14. Children and adolescents: Standards of Care in Diabetes—2024.” Diabetes Care 47, no. Supplement_1 (2024): S258-S281.
  18. Hamasaki, H. (2016). Daily physical activity and type 2 diabetes: A review. World journal of diabetes, 7(12), 243.
  19. Demark-Wahnefried, W., Rock, C. L., Patrick, K., & Byers, T. (2008). Lifestyle interventions to reduce cancer risk and improve outcomes. American family physician, 77(11), 1573-1578.
  20. Williams, P. T. (2014). Reduced risk of incident kidney cancer from walking and running. Medicine and science in sports and exercise, 46(2), 312.
  21. Schmid, D., Behrens, G., Keimling, M., Jochem, C., Ricci, C., & Leitzmann, M. (2015). A systematic review and meta-analysis of physical activity and endometrial cancer risk. European journal of epidemiology, 30(5), 397-412.
  22. Williams, P. T. (2014). Reduced risk of brain cancer mortality from walking and running. Medicine and science in sports and exercise, 46(5), 927-932.
  23. Winningham, M. L. (1991). Walking program for people with cancer: getting started. Cancer nursing, 14(5), 270-276.
  24. Neshteruk, C. D., Nezami, B. T., Nino-Tapias, G., Davison, K. K., and Ward. D. S. (2017). The influence of fathers on children’s physical activity: A review of the literature from 2009 to 2015. Preventive Medicine, 102, pages 12-19.
  25. Maltby, A. M., Vanderloo, L. M., and Tucker, P. (2018). Exploring mothers’ influence on preschoolers’ physical activity and sedentary time: A cross sectional study. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 22, 978-985.
  26. Petersen, T. L., Møller, L. B., Brønd, J. C., Jepsen, R., & Grøntved, A. (2020). Association between parent and child physical activity: a systematic review. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 17, 1-16.
  27. Tadpatrikar, A., Sharma, M. K., & Viswanath, S. S. (2021). Influence of technology usage on family communication patterns and functioning: A systematic review. Asian Journal of Psychiatry, 58, 102595.
  28. Otto, H. A. (1962). What is a strong family?. Marriage and family Living, 24(1), 77-80.
  29. Stinnett, N., & DeFrain, J. D. (1985). Secrets of strong families. (No Title).
  30. Curran, D. (1983). Traits of a healthy family: Fifteen traits commonly found in healthy families by those who work with them. Harper San Francisco.