I used to walk 3 miles UPHILL in the snow every day to school! Sound familiar? Yea, my parents say it all the time, too. But a recent study shows that (not surprisingly) all that walking was doing them a lot of good. According to the new University of Buffalo study, a simple morning walk to school could reduce stress reactivity in children during the school day, curbing increases in heart rate and blood pressure that can lead to cardiovascular disease later in life.

The study showed the students who took a short walk to school in the morning reported less stress when taking exams and also experienced smaller elevations in blood pressure than students who got carted to and fro.

“The cardiovascular disease process begins in childhood, so if we can find some way of stopping or slowing that process, that would provide an important health benefit,” says James Roemmich, UB associate professor of pediatrics and exercise and nutrition science and senior investigator on the study, which he completed with graduate students Maya Lambiase and Heather Barry. “We know that physical activity has a protective effect on the development of cardiovascular disease, and one way it may be doing so is by reducing stress reactivity.”

Roemmich explains this study is the first to show that moderate-intensity exercise can reduce children’s cardiovascular reactivity during later, stressful activities.

So all of this leads me to my question…do your kids walk to school? Why or why not? If work schedules allow, it might be a nice activity for YOU to walk with them — that way you don’t worry about their safety and you get a work out, as well. What are your thoughts on this, I’d love to hear them!