An active population
Obesity is a major public health issue and affects over 300 million adults worldwide. It increases the risk of major diseases, including coronary heart disease, stroke and cancer, and is on the increase in the UK. By 2050, a seven-fold increase in the direct healthcare costs of overweight and obesity is anticipated, with the wider costs to society and business reaching £49.9 billion (at today's prices).
With one in five journeys under a mile now being made by car, it is easy to see that our inactive modern lifestyles are playing a huge part in this rising health crisis.
The recommended daily amount of physical activity for adults is 30 minutes on five or more days of the week. However in 2008 the Health Survey for England showed that only 39% of men and 29% of women aged 16 and over met this minimum. The previous government set a target in England and Wales for 70% of the population to be "reasonably active" by 2020, while Scotland aims for 50% of adults to achieve the minimum levels by 2022. But achieving these targets is another matter.
Sir Liam Donaldson, the recently retired CMO for England, called for national targets to be set to double travel on foot in England's towns and cities, and to increase travel by bicycle eightfold with transport policy and road design supporting the achievement of such gains.
The easiest way of reducing obesity levels is by helping people build increased activity into their daily lives, and Sustrans is doing just that. All over the UK Sustrans' Active Travel projects are demonstrating innovative ways of tackling inactivity and obesity in schools, universities, workplaces and local communities. From the Welsh valleys to the east coast of Scotland, staff and volunteers are helping people to increase their activity levels through walking and cycling for everyday journeys.
Results from the Luton Ten Week Active Travel Programme highlight the benefits of physical activity on health and wellbeing. The 10 week programme works with people who are interested in becoming more active, offering a choice of supported walking and cycling activities. Participants are provided with loan bikes, pedometers, and regular encouragement and advice, as well as carrying out fitness checks at the beginning and end of the period.
At the end of the first programme the number of participants undertaking the recommended amount of physical activity had increased from 8% to 42%. The majority had also lost weight, lowered their blood pressure, and reported that they were more active and felt fitter than before they had begun the programme.
With the right facilities and advice it is clear that people are willing and able to switch to more active forms of travel. We need more direct interventions such as the Active Travel projects to enable more people to be physically active in their daily lives. There are millions of adults who could be walking and cycling for local journeys. We need to help local communities create a healthy future by supporting smarter travel choices, which have long lasting benefits for health and the environment.
We recently interviewed Dr Tony Jewell (CMO Wales) on what should be done to enable and promote active travel as a partial solution for problems of physical inactivity, climate change and a number of other societal issues. Read the full interview here.
Sustrans Active Travel in Luton is one of 50 Travel Actively projects funded by the Big Lottery fund.