DFW Debuts Walking Path

I travel quite a bit. And while I always have the best of intentions when it comes to being healthy while en route to my destination, I tend to fall back into the unhealthy habit of grabbing fast food or candy and sitting at my gate playing Words With Friends on my phone prior to my flight. There just aren't great options at many airports for healthy living. So I thought it was very cool when I heard about a new walking path that has been unveiled at Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) International Airport inside Terminal D. Designed to give traveling passengers an option to exercise while on the go, the DFW LiveWell Walking Path measures seven-tenths of a mile and is aligned with the tiled DFW Art Program floor medallions adorning Terminal D's boarding gatehouses. "We are extremely pleased to offer the DFW LiveWell Walking Path as a benefit for passengers and as a sign of our commitment to support anyone who wants to maintain a healthy lifestyle," says Jeff Fegan, CEO of DFW International Airport.  "When you look at the tremendous progress we've made in recent years to provide healthier concessions options, the Walking Path is literally a giant step toward our goal of making DFW the nation's healthiest Airport."

The Walking Path is marked with signage between each of the twelve floor art medallions Terminal D, with distances marked between each medallion and for the entire course.  The floor medallions are located throughout the length of the terminal, from Gate D6 to Gate D40.  The Walking Path also features two optional step courses in the form of 55-foot high staircases at Terminal D's two Skylink people mover stations.  DFW has also installed a Yoga Center at Gate D40 as another optional activity. The Walking Path is the latest DFW initiative aimed at supporting healthy life choices. The Airport's Concessions Program in recent years has placed a growing emphasis on offering healthier items on restaurant menus at the Airport, with concessionaires now required to offer at least one healthy entrée or menu item at each of DFW's 127 food and beverage outlets. "Our customers have been requesting more healthy options at restaurants for years, and we've been moving in that direction in response to those desires," says Ken Buchanan, DFW's executive vice president for revenue management.

I think this is an excellent idea and one that more airports should adopt. While I don't have any travel through Dallas on the horizon at the moment, I'm certainly looking forward to trying out the the DFW LiveWell Walking Path next time I'm in Texas. What do you do to stay healthy while on the road? Share your ideas here!