Share: Essential Evidence
Top line: While interventions to promote walking are at risk of largely being taken by the already active there is evidence that it is possible through a targeted distribution of information to stimulate an increase in walking among those previously sedentary.
Top line: Research has found a possible link between traffic-related air pollution outside people’s homes and the onset of asthma in children during the first eight years of life. Higher levels of nitrogen dioxide, PM2.5 and soot (generated by greater traffic volumes) were more likely to be recorded at the homes of those children who developed asthma and asthma symptoms.
Top line: By providing better accessibility to all, sustainable transport can have direct benefits in terms of poverty reduction. Healthier transport can spread the health and environment costs and benefits of transport more evenly across the population sectors.
Top line: The leading cause of adult obesity is a major decline in physical activity.1 The substitution of walking by car use is having a major impact on adult body weight and carbon emissions. A return to higher levels of walking would help improve human and planetary health.
Top line: Certain population groups are especially adversely affected by motor traffic acting as a barrier to them accessing local facilities on foot. Understanding the barrier effect is an important consideration for transport planning, not least when promoting walking as transport.
Top line: There is a significant positive relationship between physical activity, improved cognitive performance and academic achievement. This conclusion provides evidence for the argument that physical activity should be part of the school day for both its physical health and cognitive benefits. The physically active school journey can therefore contribute significantly to broader educational goals.
West of England
