Did You Know?
Outdoor exercise can benefit both the planet and the people doing the exercising. By exercising outdoors
instead of at home or at indoor fitness centers, men and women can reduce their carbon footprints. Exercising in the great outdoors does not require the use of energy-consuming fitness machines.
In addition, when exercising outdoors during daylight hours, nature provides all the light men and women will need for their workouts, further reducing the average person’s energy consumption. And it’s not just adults who can benefit from spending more time outdoors. According to the Harvard Medical School, children are likely to get more exercise if they spend time outdoors than they are if they spend time indoors. A study from researchers in England used GPS devices and accelerometers to track the activity of 1,000 children. The children were more than twice as active when they were outside than they were when they were inside. When children spend ample time outdoors, that, too, can benefit the environment. According to the National Institutes of Health, the average youngster spends three hours per day watching television and gets as much as seven hours of screen time each day. When kids are outdoors, they are less likely to be staring at energy-consuming screens and devices than they are when they’re indoors.
