“Take two days and see me in the morning.” That’s one doctor’s advice for a healthy lifestyle.

 Michael Suk, M.D., has a simple, fun and powerful message: people should pursue outdoor activities to help reduce obesity and stress. This is also the recommendation of the Recreation Vehicle Industry Association (RVIA). Dr. Suk, director of the Orthopaedic Trauma Service at the University of Florida-Shands Jacksonville, says, “The outdoors is nature’s medicine and stress reliever.” The health-related benefits of recreation vehicle (RV) travel strongly reflect Dr. Suk’s message. Many RV owners are already on the road to a healthy lifestyle, taking advantage of all the activities that the great outdoors has to offer. In RVIA’s recent Campfire Canvass survey of RV owners, almost 70 percent said they were more physically active on RV trips than on other vacations.

There is a wide range of campgrounds available to RV owners or renters, offering a variety of outdoor activities. Dr. Suk says that along with hiking, biking or swimming, “RV campgrounds are great places to try new activities like kayaking, canoeing and even swinging from a tree.”

Two years ago, Suk, a former White House Fellow, and then-Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton, co-authored a paper for the American Journal of Law and Medicine on the benefits of America’s public lands as a gateway to better health. Suk believes that America’s public lands offer many recreational opportunities to offset physical inactivity and a sedentary lifestyle.

“Rather than just lay out on a beach, get out, enjoy and participate in nature,” he says.

RVs are a great way for families to travel and expose children to nature. “Introducing children to nature while they’re young will start them on the path to a lifelong appreciation of the great outdoors,” says Suk.

For more information on how RVs play a role in leading a more active lifestyle visit GoRVing.com.