K-State Researchers and Their Partners Making it Easier for Rural Kansans of All Ages to Stay Healthy Despite Limited Access to Facilities Like Bike Tr...( MANHATTAN Kan. May 7 -- With fresh a...),Health

MANHATTAN, Kan., May 7 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- With fresh air and wide-open spaces, rural communities may seem like hotbeds for healthy living.

Limited access to walking trails, bicycle-friendly streets and gyms tell another story.

"I take for granted having a bowling alley or a skate park nearby," said Nikki Ramsey, Kansas State University master's student in family studies and human services from Statesville, N.C.

Although Ramsey's hometown is small, she said her region is like many parts of the United States, in which small towns abut other towns and connect to a large city like Charlotte.

"In these Kansas communities, you have to have a car to be anywhere other than among grass and trees," she said.

It's a challenge among so-called frontier states, said Elaine Johannes, assistant professor of family studies and human services at K-State. What looks like open space often is privately owned, used for agriculture and otherwise not suitable for recreation. Local parks often are not big enough for walking trails or skating facilities, while local streets may not be suitable for cyclists or pedestrians.

"It's especially hard for kids living in frontier states to be active because they may be on a bus for 45 minutes to an hour each way to school," Johannes said.

She and Ramsey are part of a state team supporting the Get it-Do it program to provide communities with $3,000 grants to improve community health and fitness. Get it-Do it is a collaborative effort with Kansas PRIDE, a community organization to improve quality of life in rural communities, and with K-State Research and Extension's Partnerships for Healthier Kansans. The program's funding has come from the K-State Center for Engagement and Community Development and K-State Research and Extension.

"A good portion of people write small towns off," Johannes sai
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