On Wednesday, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy made an announcement regarding a national campaign to encourage people to walk more and make all communities safer for walking. He has come up with campaign titled Step It Up.

According to Murthy, "We are facing an explosion of chronic illnesses. Seven out of ten deaths can be prevented by lifestyle changes including physical activity such as walking".

According to Surgeon General Murthy, if one involves in brisk walking for just 22 minutes a day, it can assist in reducing diabetes and heart disease. Also, it should be ensured that safe walkways are available for adults and children, so as to deal with the lack of physical activity in proper way.

It was found in a 2013 study carried out by the US Department of Transportation that three out of ten Americans reported that there were no sidewalks along any streets in their area. Also violence and problems related to it could hinder walking in some communities.

Vanessa Garrison who is co-founder with Morgan Dixon of GirlTrek, a national movement to encourage black women for walking, has described walking as a "powerful healing tradition" having a huge impact.

According to Garrison, 35,000 black women and girls are involved in GirlTrek chapters and 400 neighborhood-based organizers are leading them. They come to the streets in their areas and communities on a daily basis

Garrison said lives of people are transforming with the activity and also there is a woman who faced big problems in her life, but still comes for walk. Her son had died in gun violence.