Driving and body weight

The Pantagraph (Bloomington, Ill., March 12) -- Maybe that old notion about running for the bus isn’t such a bad idea after all. “The most docile activity is sitting behind the wheel of a car. If you can change that by just a few minutes a day, the impact can be quite significant,” U. of I. computer science professor Sheldon Jacobson says. Late last month, Jacobson published research in the journal Preventive Medicine hypothesizing that reducing daily automobile travel by 1 mile per driver and walking a mile instead would be as effective as reducing caloric intake by 100 calories per day. Also: Dallas Morning News (March 13).