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New Jersey FIT: Future In Transportation
Healthy Streets, Communities
Urban and suburban areas that are designed to encourage people to walk or bike as part of their daily routine are good
for public health. First, they make it easy for people to be active and physically fit, warding off obesity-related ailments
like diabetes and heart disease. Second, fewer cars on the roads means less vehicle exhaust, cleaner air, and fewer asthma
attacks in children. NJFIT advances a transportation network that promotes the
health of New Jersey residents.
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Healthy streets encourage
everyone to get out of their cars. |
Improving Public Health
Through Cleaner Air
Asthma, a serious respiratory condition linked to vehicle exhaust, has become an epidemic in recent years. Today in New
Jersey, 11 percent of our adult population and 13 percent of our children have been diagnosed with the disease, and 123
state residents died of asthma |
attacks in 2001. Reducing vehicle exhaust – by encouraging people to drive less often and shorter distances – can help reduce the incidence of asthma.
Promoting Public Health Through Physical Activity
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| More than half of all New Jersey residents are overweight or obese, and they are more likely than the average American
to suffer from diabetes and heart disease—two ailments related to being overweight. Part of |
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| the reason for this obesity epidemic is that many of the communities that we live in make it hard to get
low-impact exercise—like walking—on a daily basis. A transportation network that encourages people to get out of their
cars and bike or walk supports people’s need to stay active.
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Two recent studies have taken a closer look at the relationship between community design, transportation, and public health.
They found that people who live in areas marked by sprawling development are likely to walk less, weigh more, and suffer
from chronic health problems such as high blood pressure, arthritis, headaches, and breathing difficulties than people who
live in less sprawling areas.
- The Centers for Disease Control have found that regular physical activity reduces the risk of developing diabetes,
high blood pressure, and
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| colon or breast cancer. Other studies have shown that,
with regular physical activity, mortality rates decline, the risk of heart disease and stroke decrease, and the symptoms of
anxiety and depression are alleviated. |
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