Texans of all ages and fitness levels have walked their way to better health with Walk Across Texas for nearly 30 years.

Walk Across Texas, offered statewide through the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, continues to show measurable impact: improving physical activity, lowering chronic disease risk and reducing health care costs across Texas communities. It has been recognized as a Best Practice Physical Activity program by the Texas Department of State Health Services.

Since its launch in 1996, Walk Across Texas has reached more than 800,000 participants. In 2024, nearly 45,000 Texans across 162 counties took part in the program. The lifetime economic benefit for adult participants who completed the program in 2024 is estimated to be $119.5 million.

“Regular physical activity and maintaining a healthy weight are among the most effective ways to reduce the risk and severity of chronic conditions such as heart disease, stroke, Type 2 diabetes, certain types of cancer, high blood pressure and depression,” said Michael Lopez, DrPH, assistant professor and AgriLife Extension health specialist with the Family and Community Health Unit.

“Chronic diseases are not just health concerns,” Lopez said. “According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, they are the leading causes of death in the United States and are responsible, along with mental health conditions, for 90% of annual health care expenditures.”

Group of adults dressed in black winter clothes walk down a sidewalk.
Group of adults participating in an indoor exercise class.
Two adults ride mountain bikes in the desert.
A man and a woman smile at the camera and give a thumbs up. They both are wearing T-shirts that say Walk Across Texas.
Walk Across Texas helps adults and youth start and maintain an active lifestyle. Teams can log miles from more than 50 types of activities as they race to “walk” across Texas. (Laura McKenzie, Sam Craft/Texas A&M AgriLife)

Meeting Texas’ health challenges head-on

In a state with high rates of obesity, physical inactivity among adults and insufficient activity levels among youth, Walk Across Texas addresses a critical need. The program’s design – online, free, flexible and community-focused – makes it accessible and effective for a large variety of populations.

Participants form teams to compete against each other within leagues. Teams log their distance walked and activity minutes from over 50 types of physical activities as they race to “walk” across Texas. Local AgriLife Extension offices support challenges throughout the year, with most taking place in spring or fall.

This year, from January to April, more than 36,000 Texans have joined the challenge, with over 13,000 in the adult program and 23,000 in the youth program.

The Walk Across Texas Effect

  • Texans reached since 1996: 800,000+
  • Lifetime economic benefit for adult participants: $119.5 million (2024)
  • Increase in average physical activity duration per participant: +17.3 minutes (2024)
  • Participants who met national physical activity guidelines: +17% (2024)
  • Physical inactivity among participants dropped from 34% to 0% (2024)

Real data, real impact

Results from the 2024 Walk Across Texas program show significant, measurable improvements in health behaviors among participants who completed the program.

“These examples highlight the sustained value Walk Across Texas brings to communities, supporting healthy lives and reinforcing AgriLife Extension’s leadership in health and wellness programming for Texans,” Lopez said.

The Howdy Health website plays a central role in the program’s success, serving as the location where leagues and teams register, log their physical activity, and access educational materials. By providing resources, goal setting, accountability and friendly competition, Howdy Health helps support lasting behavior change.

“The website makes it easy for people to see progress and stay motivated,” Lopez said. “At the same time, it gives our agents insight into activity patterns that help us provide more meaningful program support.”

“This was a fun way to track my physical activity! It pushed me to move on days I would otherwise give myself a break, reasoning that ‘I worked out yesterday.’ I enjoyed the accountability of tracking every day, and I’m weirdly going to miss it!”

Former Walk Across Texas Participant

Increase and maintain physical activity

Follow-up assessments conducted up to 150 days after the program show that participants sustained significantly higher levels of physical activity compared to when they began, demonstrating long-term behavior change, Lopez said.

“For many Texans, Walk Across Texas is more than a challenge, it is a starting point for a lifelong wellness journey,” he said. “It empowers individuals, strengthens communities and helps us reimagine what community health can truly look like, right here at home.”

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