Walk Across Texas!

Walk Across Texas! is a free, eight-week program designed to help Texans establish the habit of regular physical activity. Texas ranks 8th in the nation as the most physically inactive state and over one-quarter of the state is obese. Because regular physical activity can reduce excess body weight and thus reduce the risk of chronic diseases associated with obesity such as diabetes and hypertension, programs that encourage physical activity are needed in Texas.

A team of experts in community health and registered dieticians developed Walk Across Texas! to foster the habit of regular exercise in the state. The program is completed in eight weeks by groups of 8 people, students in a class, or by individuals. The goal of the program is for the groups or individuals to walk 830 miles—the diameter of Texas! Registration is online and participants are are not asked to pay any fees to register themselves or their group and use the online tracking programs. Participants track the number of miles they walk and the number of pounds they have lost on the Walk Across Texas! website.

To help Texans establish the habit of regular physical activity as a way to reduce excess body weight.

This eight-week program is now implemented yearly in over 100 Texas counties and is recognized as a Best Practice Physical Activity Program by the Texas Department of State Health Services.

In 2009, 41,876 total (adults and youth) registered statewide. Of the 22,117 adults who registered 16,333 adults finished the program. The individuals who completed the program increased, on average, 5.33 miles per week between weeks 1 and 8 of the program; participants walked on average 26.5 miles in week 8 of the program compared to 21.2 miles in week 1. A constant increase in mileage has been observed since the inception of the program in 1999 and highlights the sustainability of the program.