Cycling and health

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Cycling and health

• Physical activity, social inequalities and
  transport
• Dr Harry Rutter
• Oxfordshire Health Authority
• www.oxon.org

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Exercise and inactivity

• Enormous and growing problem
• UK 25 exercise lt15 minutes / month
• Oxon 46 exercise lt once / month
• Increasing childhood and adult obesity
• 12 of US mortality
• Marked social class gradient

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Exercise and mortality

• Mostly coronary heart disease
• Excellent evidence for benefits of regular
  exercise
• 20-40 reduction in mortality
• Adds one to two years of healthy life
• Dose-response relationship

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Health benefits of exercise

• Heart disease
• High blood pressure
• Stroke
• Cancer
• Diabetes
• Mental health
• Cognitive function / independence

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Reduction in relative risk of death for cyclists
cycling at 10mph 5 days a week
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Health inequalities

• Children / Elderly / Poor / Marginalised
• SE gradients for car and bike ownership
• SE gradient for activity levels
• Children in lowest SE group 5x more likely to die
  as pedestrians than in highest
• Global inequalities
• Poor breathe the air that the rich pollute

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Communities and health

• Health benefits of social networks
• Health costs of disempowering communities
• Marked socio-economic gradient

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(Appleyard and Lintell 1972)
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Liberty and equity

• Motorists are entitled to risk their own lives,
  not those of others
• Rights of drivers must balance those of
  pedestrians, cyclists, and residents
• Disadvantaged groups less likely to drive
• More likely to suffer costs of traffic

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Improving health

• Realign transport priorities
• Health
• Safety
• Equity
• Sustainability
• Reduce danger and perception of danger
• Improve facilities
• Dont leave the decisions to experts

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Getting health on the agenda

• Transport health impact assessment
• Sophisticated approach to speed / danger
• Effective joint working
• Appreciate differing organisational cultures
• Critical mass
• Education / health promotion / etc

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Further information

• Presentation, references, and report
• www.modalshift.org