A recent study conducted by MSN found Lexington KY to be the most sedentary city in the U.S. They reached this conclusion by comparing how many hours of physical activity people reported, how much cable TV they watched, how many video games they purchased, as well as the deaths caused by deep vein thrombosis, which is correlated with extended periods of sitting.
MSN’s List of Most Sedentary US Cities
There are, of course, reasons that this criteria could be misleading – it may be that the survey sample is skewed in favour of those spend more time in front of the TV or computer than exercising; or a small group’s excessive screen time could offset the moderate exercise levels of the rest of the population; or there could be a deep vein thrombosis research institute in Lexington. But taking these results at face value, it seems to make sense – the more time people spend exercising, the less time they spend watching TV or on the computer, the less time they spend sitting in general. So it seems that Lexington, KY (as well as a great number of other cities) needs to get moving!
Get Active – Get Riding!
One really easy way to lead a more active lifestyle is to ride your bike to work. Unless you work from home, you have to get to work anyway – it’s not like you’re making an extra trip. And it’s usually easy enough to find a bike-friendly (or at least bike-friendlier) route that avoids highways, high-traffic roads, roads with narrow shoulders, and other places it’s no fun to ride. On first seeing MSN’s results, it seemed that maybe a lack of viable bike routes could be to blame for Lexingtonians’ sedentary ways – but take a look at this map – there’s a fairly comprehensive network of bike lanes and bike friendly streets throughout the city.
Bike Routes in and around Lexington, KY
Why think that Lexington’s sedentary lifestyle can be attributed to lack of bike commuting? It’s obviously not the only factor, but the 2 most active cities (and the only cities to receive an A+ grade by the MSN study) are Seattle and San Francisco – two cities famous for large numbers of bike commuters.
Try Commuting with a Folding Bike
Maybe one reason there aren’t more bike commuters in Lexington is that riding a bike can be a bit of an inconvenience. Especially if you live outside the city and have a longer commute – maybe you drive or take public transportation. It can be a pain to use a bike rack on your car, and also something of a risk to leave a bike locked up outside all day at a bus stop or train station. If these concerns resonate with you, whether you live in Lexington or not, a Montague folding bike could be the perfect way to fit some extra exercise into your day. With a Montague folding bike, you can drive part of your commute, and then ride the rest of the way – a new take on park and ride, or, as we like to call it, park and pedal. And once you’re at work, you can fold the bike and take it inside – no need for a lock when you can store it under your desk.
If you’re thinking about a Montague folding bike for your commute, you might want to take a look at either the Navigator or the Boston 8 – both come with fenders, and the Navigator even comes with a rack. Of course, if you prefer another model, you can fit fenders and a rack on that too – just head on down to your local bike shop and see what they have in stock.
How did Your City Rank?
Are you from Lexington? Do you think the “Most Sedentary City” title is deserved? What about some of the other cities on the list? What do you think of MSN’s criteria? How do you work exercise into your routine? Do you ride your bike to work?
