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Exercise-based transportation reduces oil dependence, carbon emissions and obesity
Abstract
Societal dependence on oil leads to increasingly negative social consequences throughout the world, including climate change, air pollution, political and economic instability, and habitat degradation. Reliance on the automobile for transportation also contributes to a sedentary lifestyle, an obesity epidemic and poor health. These problems are particularly pronounced in the USA, which currently consumes c. 27% of global oil production and produces c. 25% of global carbon emissions, and where c. 65% of adults are overweight or obese. Other countries throughout the world that replicate or hope to replicate the automobile-based lifestyle of the USA face similar problems now or in the near future. This paper develops and applies calculations relating the distances that could be travelled through recommended daily walking or cycling with weight loss, oil consumption and carbon emissions. These straightforward calculations demonstrate that widespread substitution of driving with distances travelled during recommended daily exercise could reduce the USA's oil consumption by up to 38%. This saving far exceeds the amount of oil recoverable from the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, suggesting that exercise can reduce foreign oil dependence and provide an alternative to oil extraction from environmentally sensitive habitat. At the same time, an average individual who substitutes this amount of exercise for transportation would burn respectively c. 12.2 and 26.0 kg of fat per year for walking and cycling. This is sufficient to eliminate obese and overweight conditions in a few years without dangerous or draconian diet plans. Furthermore, a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions of c. 35% is possible if the revenue saved through decreased health care spending on obesity is redirected toward carbon abatement. As a result, exercise-based transportation may constitute a favourable alternative to the energy and diet plans that are currently being implemented in the USA and may offer better development choices for developing countries.
... In the literature, the impact of the obesity problem on environmental degradation using a macroeconomic approach is not advanced in the literature. For this reason, this investigation opted to use similar studies related to this topic (e.g., Koengkan and Alberto Fuinhas 2021b;Cuschieri and Agius 2020;Magkos et al. 2019;Swinburn 2019;Webb and Egger 2013;Viscecchia et al. 2012;Breda et al. 2011;Davis et al. 2007;Higgins 2005). These investigations pointed out that the obesity problem increases environmental degradation. ...
... As mentioned before in the introduction, the literature has given little attention to a possible connection between the obesity epidemic problem and the increase in environmental degradation. Due to this, our investigation opted to use the few existing pieces of literature that approached this topic of investigation and which are similar (e.g., Koengkan and Alberto Fuinhas 2021b;Cuschieri and Agius 2020;Magkos et al. 2019;Swinburn 2019;Webb and Egger 2013;Viscecchia et al. 2012;Breda et al. 2011;Davis et al. 2007;Higgins 2005). Koengkan and Alberto Fuinhas (2021b) investigated the impact of the overweight epidemic on energy consumption in thirty-one countries in the European region from 1990 to 2016. ...
... According to the authors, the intensive use of motor vehicles in the United Kingdom has reduced physical activity and increased obesity and CO 2 emissions by increasing non-renewable energy sources. Higgins (2005), in an investigation that investigated whether "exercise-based transportation reduces oil dependence, carbon emissions and obesity", points out that the use of the automobile as a means of transport also contributes to a sedentary lifestyle and the obesity epidemic and poor health. The author adds that these problems consume 27% of global oil production and produce 25% of global carbon emissions. ...
The macroeconomic effect of the obesity epidemic on environmental degradation was examined for panel data from thirty-one European countries from 1991 to 2016. The quantile via moments model (QVM) was used to realize our empirical investigation. The empirical results indicate that the obesity epidemic, electricity consumption, and urbanisation encourage environmental degradation by increasing CO2 emissions, while economic growth decreases them. Moreover, we identify that the obesity epidemic raises the environmental degradation problem in three ways. First, the obesity epidemic is caused by the increased consumption of processed foods from multinational food corporations. The increase in food production will positively impact energy consumption from non-renewable energy sources. Second, obesity reduces physical and outdoor activities, increasing the intensive use of home appliances and motorized transportation and screen-viewing leisure activities, consequently increasing energy consumption from non-renewable energy sources. A third possible way can be related indirectly to economic growth, globalization, and urbanisation. This empirical investigation will contribute to the literature and for policymakers and governments. Therefore, this investigation will encourage the development of initiatives to mitigate the obesity problem in European countries and accelerate the energy transition process. Finally, this investigation will open a new topic in the literature regarding the correlation between the obesity epidemic and environmental degradation
... 31 Car use contributes to obesity by reducing human energy expenditure. 19,34,35 Driving is sedentary and displaces active transport modes such as walking, cycling or public transport (which usually involves physical activity to get to and from stations or stops). 11,23,33,36,37 Because of this, each additional hour spent driving per day carries a 6% increased risk of becoming obese. ...
... Widespread substitution of car use with active travel would significantly reduce GHG emissions, and rates of obesity and obesityrelated diseases. 11,22,25,34 For example, a US study calculated that replacing short car trips with walking or cycling could almost eliminate obesity in the absence of dietary change and significantly reduce US GHG emissions. 34 Making cars a less attractive transport option would stimulate a shift towards active transport. ...
... 11,22,25,34 For example, a US study calculated that replacing short car trips with walking or cycling could almost eliminate obesity in the absence of dietary change and significantly reduce US GHG emissions. 34 Making cars a less attractive transport option would stimulate a shift towards active transport. One option is to increase the cost of car use. ...
Objective:
To provide an overview of the shared structural causes of obesity and climate change, and analyse policies that could be implemented in Australia to both equitably reduce obesity rates and contribute to mitigating climate change.
Methods:
Informed by the political economy of health theoretical framework, a review was conducted of the literature on the shared causes of, and solutions to, obesity and climate change. Policies with potential co-benefits for climate change and obesity were then analysed based upon their feasibility and capacity to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and equitably reduce obesity rates in Australia.
Results:
Policies with potential co-benefits fit within three broad categories: those to replace car use with low-emissions, active modes of transport; those to improve diets and reduce emissions from the food system; and macro-level economic policies to reduce the over-consumption of food and fossil fuel energy.
Conclusion:
Given the complex causes of both problems, it is argued that a full spectrum of complementary strategies across different sectors should be utilised.
Implications:
Such an approach would have significant public health, social and environmental benefits.
... Kondisi ini menyebabkan penelitian akan tertuju pada literatur yang berdekatan dengan topik terkait yang serupa. Sebagian besar penelitian terdahulu menyebutkan bahwa epidemi obesitas berpengaruh positif terhadap kerusakan lingkungan (Breda et al., 2011;Cuschieri & Calleja Agius, 2021;Davis et al., 2007;Higgins, 2005;Koengkan & Fuinhas, 2021a;Magkos et al., 2020;Viscecchia et al., 2012;Webb & Egger, 2014). Koengkan & Fuinhas (2021b) menyatakan bahwa kelebihan berat badan dapat meningkatkan konsumsi energi dari bahan bakar fosil dan akibatnya meningkatkan emisi karbon dioksida. ...
... Perubahan iklim terjadi karena kebutuhan untuk konsumsi makanan mengakibatkan seseorang lebih memilih mengurangi aktivitas fisik melalui penggunaan kendaraan bermotor dan peralatan rumah tangga modern sehingga menyebabkan akumulasi CO2 semakin tinggi. Atas kondisi tersebut, maka kemudian Higgins (2005) menyarankan bahwa transportasi berbasis olahraga dapat mengurangi ketergantungan seseorang dan berpotensi mengurangi tingkat obesitas. Transportasi masal berbasis olahraga ini memungkinkan terjadinya interkoneksi antar satu tempat pemberhentian ke tempat lain sehingga akumulasi karbon dioksida relatif dapat dikendalikan. ...
An increase in unhealthy lifestyles through daily calorie consumption has the potential to lead to an increase in adult obesity. This has implications that can lead to a decrease in environmental care behavior so that environmental quality standards can be disrupted. On this basis, this study aims to review the effect of obesity in adulthood on sustainable environmental stability. This study used analytical techniques in the form of static panel regression: random effect generalized least square and panel corrected the standard error. The data used in estimating includes a panel of 34 provinces in Indonesia during 2016-2021. The results show that obesity is consistently able to reduce the quality of the environment. Not only that, but globalization also exacerbates its connections to environmental damage. The use of mass transportation that is more environmentally friendly and based on physical activity is one of the efforts to reduce the level of obesity it has implications for improving the quality of the environment. On the other hand, the transformation and implementation of healthy food for elements of society needs to be promoted to directly reduce obesity. Keywords: daily calories, obesity, quality of life standard, sustainable environmental stability, transportation.
... Secondly, according to our knowledge, except for Solarin and Bello (2019) (who incorporated the dynamics of sustainability), existing papers have predominantly used gross domestic product (GDP) as the dependent variable. However, GDP does not separate endeavors that improve welfare from those that deteriorate welfare (Higgins 2005). Economic performance and improved well-being depend on more than growth in GDP. ...
... These components overlap as changes in any one of the components will affect the others. For example, economic growth requires the consumption of natural resources which are predominantly non-renewable and lead to the emission of harmful substances with their attendant negative impacts on the environment and the well-being of society (Higgins 2005). The fundamentals of sustainable development entail the eradication of hunger and poverty, improved healthcare and education systems, sustained growth in the economy that promotes employment, as well as addressing climate change and other ecological concerns that can adversely influence the well-being of the populace (Solarin and Bello 2019). ...
The energy profile of India is dominated by fossil fuels, which create concerns over resource and environmental sustainability as fossil fuels are non-renewable and high carbon emitting. This scenario has necessitated the call for more renewables to replace fossil fuels to address resource and environmental sustainability concerns. This study, therefore, investigates the possibility of switching the fossil fuels of oil, coal, and natural gas for renewable energy in India. Using annual Indian data spanning more than four decades, a transcendental logarithmic production function based on a second-order Taylor Series approximation is estimated with the ridge regression technique. To achieve robustness, two equations with gross domestic product and adjusted net savings as regressands are estimated to proxy economic growth and sustainable development, respectively. The empirical results show substantial substitution possibilities between the fuels for both gross domestic product and adjusted net savings equations. The empirical findings show that India has the capacity to satisfy its energy needs through renewables to pursue not only economic growth but sustainable development. To actualize this potential, the Indian government should promote investment in renewables as this also promotes economic growth and development.
... Walking can benefit the transportation system and its users in many ways such as mitigating congestion, providing access to public transit services, trivial cost of travel compared to motorized modes of transportation, and health benefits (Higgins, 2005;Lamíquiz and López-Domínguez, 2015;Lundberg and Weber, 2014;Morency et al., 2007;Schlossberg and Brown, 2004). Furthermore, contrary to the motorized modes of transportation, walking is an environment-friendly mode because it does not consume nonrenewable energy sources, which helps to reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions (Higgins, 2005;Morency et al., 2007). ...
... Walking can benefit the transportation system and its users in many ways such as mitigating congestion, providing access to public transit services, trivial cost of travel compared to motorized modes of transportation, and health benefits (Higgins, 2005;Lamíquiz and López-Domínguez, 2015;Lundberg and Weber, 2014;Morency et al., 2007;Schlossberg and Brown, 2004). Furthermore, contrary to the motorized modes of transportation, walking is an environment-friendly mode because it does not consume nonrenewable energy sources, which helps to reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions (Higgins, 2005;Morency et al., 2007). Consequently, recognizing the influential factors that make destinations more favorable for walking can be used in policy analysis to enhance walking as an urban mode of transportation in daily trips. ...
Pedestrian destination choice models are among the issues that have not been adequately addressed by transportation researchers. Several issues should be considered in order to develop a pedestrian destination choice model, including the method used to generate destination choice sets as well as the specification of different environmental variables that influence walking. Although some studies use built environment variables to elaborate on pedestrian destination choice models, almost all of them neglect the importance of the choice set generation method and rely merely on the random sampling method. This study illustrates the extent to which a choice set generation method can influence the parameter estimates of a pedestrian destination choice model. Here, in addition to the random sampling method, the method of stratified importance sampling is addressed to develop a pedestrian destination choice model for the city of Rasht, Iran. In addition, an exhaustive array of built environment variables that are known to have a significant effect on walking is employed. The results suggest that using stratified random sampling can improve the destination choice model in both goodness of fit and percent correct of the prediction of pedestrians' destination. The relative importance of environmental variables with respect to altering the pedestrians' destination choices is demonstrated through their elasticities' values. Two scenarios, which aim to improve the walking environment by enhancing network connectivity, are examined. As a result, the pedestrian catchment area is suggested to be the most effective variable of network connectivity. The results of these scenarios can assist policy makers to identify zones that deserve more attention.
... Table 2 summarizes the key arguments between global warming and the obesity epidemic of each included study. Among the 21 studies that examined the common drivers of global warming and the obesity epidemic, the key drivers identified consist of the fossil fuel economy (24,(40)(41)(42) and population growth and industrialization (40,(43)(44)(45), which in turn influence land use and urbanization (24,46,47), motorized transportation (24,(47)(48)(49)(50)(51)(52)(53)(54) and agricultural productivity (24,(42)(43)(44)(54)(55)(56). Moreover, several studies indicated the unintended benefits of global warming and/or obesity interventionsthe global warming interventions could help prevent obesity through promoting sustainable transport and active lifestyle (47-50), and the population-level obesity interventions could alleviate global warming through reduced energy consumption and greenhouse gas emission (46,(57)(58)(59). ...
... Policies that endorse scientific research and widespread deployment of clean and sustainable energy sources (96) and urban designs that promote active commuting and lifestyles (97) are likely to alleviate the economic and societal burden of both global warming and the obesity epidemic. On the other hand, global warming interventions that restrict and penalize greenhouse gas emission may gradually alter the social norm and nudge people towards a healthier lifestyle (23,(47)(48)(49)(50)60). Analogously, population-level obesity interventions could reduce energy expenditure and associated greenhouse gas emission (21,46,(57)(58)(59)(71)(72)(73)(74)(75)(76)(77)(78)(79)(80). ...
Global warming and the obesity epidemic are two unprecedented challenges mankind faces today. A literature search was conducted in the PubMed, Web of Science, EBSCO and Scopus for articles published until July 2017 that reported findings on the relationship between global warming and the obesity epidemic. Fifty studies were identified. Topic-wise, articles were classified into four relationships – global warming and the obesity epidemic are correlated because of common drivers (n = 21); global warming influences the obesity epidemic (n = 13); the obesity epidemic influences global warming (n = 13); and global warming and the obesity epidemic influence each other (n = 3). We constructed a conceptual model linking global warming and the obesity epidemic – the fossil fuel economy, population growth and industrialization impact land use and urbanization, motorized transportation and agricultural productivity and consequently influences global warming by excess greenhouse gas emission and the obesity epidemic by nutrition transition and physical inactivity; global warming also directly impacts obesity by food supply/price shock and adaptive thermogenesis, and the obesity epidemic impacts global warming by the elevated energy consumption. Policies that endorse deployment of clean and sustainable energy sources, and urban designs that promote active lifestyles, are likely to alleviate the societal burden of global warming and obesity.
... First, making people be aware of the relationship between personal health and environmental health [1] could potentially increase the frequency and diversity of their pro-environmental behaviors. Initial findings from Energy Diet suggest that people are able to reflect on the concurrent relationship of pro-environmental and healthy behaviors (e.g., "I've thought about that, that why getting into the car to go exercising when you should be using your own power to exercise because that would be better for the environment."-P1) ...
... Pro-environmental behavior is often seen as one form of pro-social behaviors [7], and it is said that both altruism and self-interest can motivate pro-social behaviors [7,8]. Since the primary inspiration of Energy Diet and my dissertation comes from the notion of encouraging the co-benefits of health and environment [1], I propose my first research question: "How can we use health benefits to motivate people to pursue pro-environmental behaviors as well?" ...
People are often unaware that everyday behavior and lifestyle choices involving food, exercise, and shopping all have varying levels of consequences on the environment. In fact, this makes it difficult for people to understand the mutual relationship between personal health and the environmental health. My thesis investigates a lifestyle intervention that emphasizes the mutual benefits of pro-health and pro-environmental behaviors. I further intend to investigate online prosocial interaction in this intervention and its impact on participant motivation to engage in pro-environmental behaviors.
... There are prospects of benefits to health through exercise (e.g. de Hartog et al., 2010;Rojas-Rueda et al., 2011;Panis, 2011;Kahlmeier et al., 2011) and from improved local air quality if transport pollution is reduced (COMEAP, 2010), to the economy in congested areas (Eddington, 2006), and to carbon reduction (IEA, 2012;DECC, 2013). So, people might be encouraged to walk or cycle for self-interest reasons, especially for health benefits (e.g. de Hartog et al., 2010), or as acts of social responsibility (Blondel et al., 2011;Higgins, 2005). Yet even if the benefits mitigate risks and harms, there are questions about the reasonableness or plausibility of expecting uptake of walking and cycling if conditions are poor. ...
... (COMEAP, 2010, pp. 1-2) The mortality associated with poor air quality and probable impacts of climate change implies that (equal) concern for people's lives requires moves to less-polluting transport, including walking and cycling (Blondel et al., 2011;Higgins, 2005). Yet should responsibility for increasing use of less polluting modes rest primarily with individuals, or should it be a collective responsibility to alter conditions to promote those modes? ...
Trials and dangers faced by pedestrians and cyclists have not only created an impression of
undesirable conditions, but have promoted arguments of injustice and inequality. High rates of death
and injury coupled with reporting of poor infrastructure and fear of the behaviour of other road users
point to a plausible prima facie concern that pedestrians and cyclists suffer inequalities. Yet this
appearance masks uncertainty about what factors are relevant in judging inequality and how these
should be treated against potentially competing claims. This article develops a framework assessing
conditions for walking and cycling according to a theoretical conception of political and social equality,
and so providing a basis on which to make arguments for change in transport policy, planning and law.
In developing the framework we examine the relevance to equality of a range of factors, including
measurement of road casualties, questions of responsibility to increase walking and cycling as means
of contributing to pollution and carbon reduction, matters of fault and responsibility for road safety,
and the economic impacts of improving conditions for walking and cycling.
... One practical solution would be to build physical activity into the daily routine by using active modes of transport [5]. Walking and cycling have been shown to improve health (mainly all-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer) [6] and also provide social, economic and environmental benefits [7,8]. Car use, on the other hand, contributes to a significant proportion of daily sedentary time, and the situation is worsening with increasing traffic congestion/delays [9]; it has been associated with an increased risk of obesity and related outcomes [10]. ...
Background
Physical inactivity is a global public health problem. A practical solution would be to build physical activity into the daily routine by using active modes of transport. Choice of transport mode can influence cancer risk through their effects on levels of physical activity, sedentary time, and environmental pollution. This review synthesizes existing evidence on the associations of specific transport modes with risks of site-specific cancers.
Methods
Relevant literature was searched in PubMed, Embase, and Scopus from 1914 to 17th February 2023. For cancer sites with effect measures available for a specific transport mode from two or more studies, random effects meta-analyses were performed to pool relative risks (RR) comparing the highest vs. lowest activity group as well as per 10 Metabolic Equivalent of Task (MET) hour increment in transport-related physical activity per week (∼150 min of walking or 90 min of cycling).
Results
27 eligible studies (11 cohort, 15 case-control, and 1 case-cohort) were identified, which reported the associations of transport modes with 10 site-specific cancers. In the meta-analysis, 10 MET hour increment in transport-related physical activity per week was associated with a reduction in risk for endometrial cancer (RR: 0.91, 95% CI: 0.83–0.997), colorectal cancer (RR: 0.95, 95% CI: 0.91–0.99) and breast cancer (RR: 0.99, 95% CI: 0.89–0.996). The highest level of walking only or walking and cycling combined modes, compared to the lowest level, were significantly associated with a 12% and 30% reduced risk of breast and endometrial cancers respectively. Cycling, compared to motorized modes, was associated with a lower risk of overall cancer incidence and mortality.
Conclusion
Active transport appears to reduce cancer risk, but evidence for cancer sites other than colorectum, breast, and endometrium is currently limited.
... The included systematic review by An and colleagues , analysed 21 studies on common drivers of obesity and climate change. Sixteen of the studies from An and colleagues contributed to the development of DECISIVE (Higgins 2005;Egger 2007Egger , 2008McMichael et al. 2007;Woodcock et al. 2007;Bloomberg and Aggarwala 2008;Akhtar et al. 2009;Friel et al. 2009;Roberts 2009;McDermott 2010;Young and Caisey 2010;Viscecchia et al. 2012;Lowe 2014;Mash 2010;Skouteris et al. 2014;Springmann et al. 2016). Five of the same double-duty actions as mentioned by the Lancet report were identified (omitting '# 6', Provide education on obesity and climate change), as well as three additional actions (# 5, 7, and 9; Reduce availability and consumption of SSB; Encourage reduction in sedentary screen time, and; Improve accessibility and use of green space). ...
Aim
Community-based obesity prevention interventions (CBOPIs) target the causes of obesity. Actions implemented in CBOPIs could simultaneously impact both climate change and obesity, making them a potentially important approach. To date, limited work has been undertaken to identify and categorise double-duty actions (those that simultaneously influence obesity and climate change) in CBOPIs. The prevalence of double-duty actions in CBOPIs is currently unknown. This paper outlines the development and application of the DoublE-duty actions in CommunIty-baSed obesity InterVEntions (DECISIVE) framework to address this gap.
Subjects and methods
A scoping review focusing on obesity and climate change was performed, and the results informed the development of DECISIVE. DECISIVE was applied to studies included in the Cochrane review of obesity prevention interventions in children, and both the published and unpublished data of a completed intervention.
Results
The scoping review identified one study and one systematic review which contributed to the development of DECISIVE. The framework lists nine double-duty actions, plus an ‘Other’ action. Each action’s potential impact on both obesity and climate change is summarised and example strategies are provided. Reduce the availability and consumption of ultra-processed foods was the most prevalent double-duty action when applying DECISIVE to published studies.
Conclusion
DECISIVE is the first framework to recognise double-duty actions on obesity and climate change in CBOPIs. The development of DECISIVE holds important implications for community stakeholders who may be able to better identify, incorporate, and promote double-duty actions. This may enhance stakeholder acceptability, feasibility, and value-for-money of interventions.
... On the one hand, the GHG emissions of trips on bicycles are almost negligible compared to car trips 19 . On the other hand, the frequent use of bicycles can change the car-based sedentary lifestyles 20,21 , increase physical activity, and thus lead to a lower risk of all-cause mortality, especially chronic diseases like obesity and cardiovascular diseases [22][23][24][25][26] . ...
Bicycles are widely recognized as an effective solution for reducing short-distance trip-related climate impacts and addressing sedentary lifestyle-caused chronic diseases. Yet, the historical patterns of global bicycle production, trade, stock, and use remain poorly characterized, preventing thorough investigation of its role in sustainable road transport transition. Here, based on a dynamic model and various data sources, we have compiled, to our knowledge, the first global dataset for bicycle ownership and use by country from 1962 to 2015. Our comparison between the historical development of per-capita bicycle ownership and car ownership reveals five varying types in an S-curve among different countries. High bicycle ownership does not necessarily lead to high bicycle use, which is instead still marginal in daily trips worldwide (<5% for most countries). A worldwide pro-bicycle policy and infrastructure development enabled modal shift like the Netherlands and Denmark can lead to significant untapped climate and health benefits. High bicycle ownership does not necessarily correlate with high bicycle use, with substantial health and environmental gains possible by worldwide pro-bicycle policy implementation, suggests a global compilation of bicycle ownership, production, trade and stock.
... Walking and cycling are active modes of transportation that can reduce air pollution and traffic congestion, and endorse an active lifestyle, which in turn can improve public health (Bo Andersen et al. 2000;Mayor of London, 2004;Higgins, 2005;Jang et al. 2010;Vanparijs et al. 2015;Mueller et al. 2015;Nashad et al. 2016). However, vulnerable road users are more likely to encounter traffic accidents, particularly in countries where traffic laws are poorly imposed (Beck et al. 2007;Zegeer and Bushell, 2012;Songpatanasilp et al. 2015;Baldwin et al. 2018;Hampshire et al. 2020). ...
This study aims to employ the negative binomial model and empirical Bayes model to estimate the accident risk for vulnerable road users at the road intersections in Toyohashi, Japan. A comprehensive dataset including 831 pedestrians and 3874 bicycle accidents at 16,283 intersections over a 10-year period (previous five years and next five years) from 2009–2018 is utilized. The obtained results indicate that accident estimation with the empirical Bayes model is highly correlated (r = 0.882) with the previous accidents and moderately correlated (r = 0.445) with the future accidents, which are considerably better than those assessed by the negative binomial model (r = 0.269 and r = 0.266), for bicycle as well pedestrian accidents. Moreover, the empirical Bayes model reveals the effect of “intersection angle deviation” alone on each intersection by exposing the high-risk intersections, which is insignificant in the negative binomial model.
... According to Alexandrou et al. (2013), the U.S. average energy input for a typical American diet for the year 2004 is 3,679 kcal/capita/day which is well over the average value of 2,100 kcal/capita/day recommended by United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) 29 . The additional energy intake could be used to support 57 km of cycling (115 kJ/km according to Higgins, 2005) or 31 km of walking (215 kJ/km according to Higgins 30 ) per day per capita. Based on the 2019 U.S. population of 3.28E8, cycling or walking using the excess food energy could replace 89% or 48% of 2019 LDV travel demand. ...
Annual anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions must be cut by 40-70% by 2050 to limit global warming this century to 2o C above the pre-industrial temperature and avoid the worst consequences of climate change. This cut in global emissions is likely infeasible without U.S. decarbonization efforts equaling the global target. The transport and industry sectors account for 57% of U.S. GHG emissions. These two sectors must decarbonize and match the target if the U.S. is to achieve the necessary cut in emissions. Emissions from U.S. transport and industry are coupled with advanced transport technologies (e.g., battery electric vehicles (BEVs) with Li-ion batteries) typically requiring emissions-intensive manufacturing. Previous studies have largely ignored the transport-industry emissions nexus. Instead, this thesis presents a parametric fleet-scale production-use-disposal model that combines life cycle assessment with macro-level consumption parameters to calculate consumption based cumulative emissions and global temperature changes attributable to U.S. light duty vehicles (LDVs). Future pathways account for emerging powertrain technologies, electricity decarbonization, transport demand, recycling rates, and vehicle lifespans. Only 3% of the 1,512 modeled pathways meet the emissions target. Without aggressive actions, U.S. LDVs will likely exceed the cumulative emissions budget by 2039. Cumulative emissions are most sensitive to transport demand and the speed of fleet electrification and electricity decarbonization. Increasing production of BEVs to 100% of sales by 2040 (at the latest) is necessary, and early retirement of internal combustion engine vehicles is beneficial. Rapid electricity decarbonization minimizes emissions from BEV use and increasingly energy-intensive vehicle production. Deploying high fuel economy vehicles can increase emissions from the production of BEV batteries and lightweight materials. Increased recycling has only a small effect on these emissions because over the time period there are few batteries and lightweight materials available for recycling. A quarter of U.S. industry emissions are from the steel and aluminum sectors. Previous studies have shown that there are limited opportunities for further energy efficiency improvements in these upstream industries; however, increased material efficiency might prove fruitful, where services are delivered using less emissions-intensive materials produced from natural resources. Detailed material flow analyses (MFAs) are needed to identify the opportunities for material efficiency and to model the supply chain emissions. MFA construction is time consuming and fraught with missing and contradictory data. This thesis presents an easily updatable nonlinear least squares data reconciliation framework for MFA that is then applied to the annual U.S. steel flow. The MFA reveals key opportunities for U.S. steel material efficiency: increased manufacturing process yields and domestic recycling of landfilled and exported scrap. To understand the barriers to increased recycling, an optimal reverse supply chain model is derived using linear programming (LP). It shows that U.S. domestic steel and aluminum recycling is already constrained by compositional mismatches between the scrap streams and industry demand. The LP model is coupled with a dynamic material flow analysis to show that the increasing volumes of high-quality wrought aluminum being used in U.S. vehicles are likely to be downcycled or landfilled at vehicle end-of-life. The LP model is revised to show the potential for using emerging scrap separation and refining technologies to increase closed-loop recycling rates towards 90%. The technical assessments presented here highlight the scope for change. In future work, socioeconomic analyses could be coupled with these models to further assess the viability of the material efficiency strategies highlighted throughout.
... Thus, there exists a relationship between energy consumption and human health, for example, obesity. Previous studies have proven that the lifestyle of relying on a car instead of walking may result in obesity and then affect household energy consumption [71,72]. In another way, the search results may include results of energy intake of human being, mixing household energy consumption with human energy intake. ...
With the emergence of the contradictions between energy supply and demand, considerable attention has been paid to the residential household energy consumption with increasing research in this field. Based on databases of Science Citation Index Expanded and Social Sciences Citation Index, this paper applies the bibliometric method to analyze the development and evolution of this research field using the literature published in the field of residential energy consumption during the period 1970–2018. The following findings were found: (1) The research on energy consumption of households is mainly divided into three stages: cognition (1970–1989), exploration (1990–2005), and rapid development (2006–2018); (2) By analyzing the citations of high-yield authors, institutions, journals and papers in this field, it is clear that the developed countries such as the United States, Britain, and the Netherlands have significantly stronger research capabilities in this field; (3) By analyzing the co-occurrence of keywords and co-citation of the literature in this field, the research hotspots in this field are summarized as the relationship between energy supply and demand, energy use efficiency, the relationship between various household indicators and energy consumption, environmental protection, modeling and measurement; (4) In view of the reality, future works should pay more attention to the influence of micro-factors, regional energy consumption issues, and energy consumption of rural households.
... Through the calculation of travel distances and analysis for initiating the exercise-based transportation such as cycling or walking, the benefits of using exercise-based transportation was shown in terms of weight loss, oil consumption and carbon emissions reductions in USA. Exercise-based transportation (cycling or walking) is important for all nations(Higgins, 2005). The use of the bicycle as a transport mode is really helpful for health as well as for environmental protection. ...
Public bike-share infrastructure has the potential to play an important role in sustainable transport systems by enhancing environmental, public health and economic outcomes. In this research, the temporal distributive equity of bike-share infrastructure was examined for initial (300) and expanded (477) bike-share stations across the city of Chicago using eleven accessibility indices. The eleven accessibility indices were calculated using counts of bike share stations within neighborhood boundaries, buffered catchment areas and network distances. By examining the accessibility indices, it was recommended to re-distribute the bike share stations for optimal allocation across the different economic hardship categories. In this study, Linear Optimization Model was configured for the re-distribution of bike share stations. The number of expanded bike share stations was used to limit the value for re-distributed stations. Two LP models were calibrated by using the composite accessibility, which was essentially a combination of nine suitability indices. A general comparison was revealed with some statistical analysis to check the significant relationship between the models. LP model with constraining the categorical economic hardship zones was selected as the best model in terms of equitable re-distribution of bike-share stations.
... Reliance on Fossil fuel powered transport for individuals and its associated decrease in active forms of transport are also seen as a major contributor towards the obesity epidemic 12,13,14,15 . ...
This paper presents the results of a baseline survey undertaken for the Norfolk Island Carbon Health
Evaluation (NICHE) project and analyzes the relationships among key variables hypothesized as
affecting respondents’ intentions to use a personal carbon trading (PCT) system. The survey was
delivered to all households on Norfolk Island and gathered information on respondent’s attitudes
towards climate change, PCT and health, as well as demographic and household information. The
intention of the study was to investigate the relationship between health and climate change and whether
attitudes can be influenced by an understanding of one’s carbon footprint prior to the roll out of a PCT
trial.
... Reliance on Fossil fuel powered transport for individuals and its associated decrease in active forms of transport are also seen as a major contributor towards the obesity epidemic 12,13,14,15 . ...
This paper presents the results of a baseline survey undertaken for the Norfolk Island Carbon Health Evaluation (NICHE) project and analyzes the relationships among key variables hypothesized as affecting respondents' intentions to use a personal carbon trading (PCT) system. The survey was delivered to all households on Norfolk Island and gathered information on respondent's attitudes towards climate change, PCT and health, as well as demographic and household information. The intention of the study was to investigate the relationship between health and climate change and whether attitudes can be influenced by an understanding of one's carbon footprint prior to the roll out of a PCT trial.
... Individuals' dependence on fossil fuel powered transportation and the related reduction in active forms of transport is also viewed as a major contributor to the obesity epidemic. 15,16,17,18 The increase in the global levels of obesity has been linked to the rise in diabetes 19 , increased risk of cancer of the oesophagus, kidney, pancreas, gall bladder, breast, thyroid, ovary, cervix, endometrium and prostate, in addition to multiple myeloma and Hodgkin's lymphoma. 20 Theoretically use of a PCT may well encourage a reduction in the usage of fossil fuel powered transportation and increase in participation of active types of transport (e.g. ...
Personal carbon trading systems (PCTS) have been hypothesized as one of the measures needing to be considered to combat global warming and reduce carbon emissions (references here). The research described in this paper examines baseline data collected as part of the Norfolk Island Carbon Health Evaluation (NICHE) project. The project aims to examine links between obesity related conditions and individuals’ understanding of their carbon footprint. A personal carbon monitoring system was rolled out on the Island mid 2013 that allows users to review their carbon outputs against a baseline calculated from the initial survey. The analysis presented here examines the differences between males and females attitudes towards the adoption of PCTS from a baseline survey conducted prior to the roll out of the system. The analysis of the model by gender revealed that ‘Health Consciousness’ and ‘Environmental Concerns’ were significant predictors for both genders. ‘Optimism’ was also identified by both genders to be significant, but it was found to explain double the amount of variance for males than females. Whereas, ‘Self Heath Evaluation’ was found to only be a significant predictor of female attitudes towards a PCTS. Surprisingly, ‘Environmental Action’ was found not to be a significant predictor to either genders attitudes towards the adoption of PCTS.
... For example, it reduces symptoms of depression [9,10], reinforces thinking and creativity [11], and provides a means for the expression of positive feelings [12]. In addition, as a mode of active transportation in the daily lives of individuals, walking can reduce dependence on hydrocarbon sources of energy and pollution of the environment [13]. Consequently, walking should be studied specifically because of its broad influence on public health. ...
The environment has an important impact on physical activity, especially walking. The relationship between the environment and walking is not the same as for other types of physical activity. This study seeks to comprehensively identify the environmental factors influencing walking and to show how those environmental factors impact on walking using the experiences of adults between the ages of 18 and 65. The current study is a meta-synthesis based on a systematic review. Seven databases of related disciplines were searched, including health, transportation, physical activity, architecture, and interdisciplinary databases. In addition to the databases, two journals were searched. Of the 11,777 papers identified, 10 met the eligibility criteria and quality for selection. Qualitative content analysis was used for analysis of the results. The four themes identified as influencing walking were “safety and security”, “environmental aesthetics”, “social relations”, and “convenience and efficiency”. “Convenience and efficiency” and “environmental aesthetics” could enhance the impact of “social relations” on walking in some aspects. In addition, “environmental aesthetics” and “social relations” could hinder the influence of “convenience and efficiency” on walking in some aspects. Given the results of the study, strategies are proposed to enhance the walking experience.
... In addition, the "always-on" energy feedback offers an alternative way to communicate the body weight values to people. In terms of the benefit for energy feedback, it offers people a channel to reflect on the co-benefits of health and environment (Higgins, 2005) more easily. In other words, certain behaviors such as exercise-based transportation and less consumption of meat are suggested to be better for both one's health and the environmental sustainability (Scarborough, 2014). ...
Self-monitoring behavioral interventions for weight loss and energy conservation share some common ground in terms of their intervention approach and feedback design and delivery. Through examining the similarities and differences of how weight and energy feedback are designed in behavioral interventions, this paper presents what we have learned from these similarities and differences. We then propose three design and methodological implications to present how weight loss intervention can inform us regarding how to better design energy conservation intervention.
... In-depth studies of potential risk factors and safety outcomes are needed to ensure that the most appropriate actions are taken to improve safety (Andersen et. al., 2000;Higgins, 2005;Mueller et. al., 2015). ...
Nearly 1.3 million people die in road crashes each year, on average 3,287 deaths a day. In 2013 in the European Union more than 6 % of all who died in road traffic crashes were cyclists. The number of cyclist killed on roads in the EU has decreased by only 9 %, compared to the total fatality decrease of 18 % from 2010 to 2013. The majority of cyclist fatalities are males (78 %). For the larger countries, Belgium and The Netherlands had the highest proportion of female cyclist fatalities (> 30 %). In general, 55 % of the bicycle fatalities in the EU countries were killed inside urban areas but there are large differences between the countries. In the last couple of years there has been an enormous effort on reduction in cycling fatality numbers across almost all ages in the EU. As a result of this effort, the number of accidents started to slightly decrease.
This paper reviews the literature concerning cyclist-motor vehicle collision and road safety management according to the cyclist role in the accident rise. The paper examines pedestrians safety in order to determine what kind of factors of transport infrastructure, vehicle technical parameters, cyclist behavior and road or street category have the influence on cyclist and vehicle accidents and identify technical reasons of the accidents rise. A review is conducted of information in the literature on the injury outcome of a cyclist/vehicle collision for a given impact speed and the likely consequences of reducing the travelling speeds of vehicles in terms of the frequency and severity of cyclist injuries.
... In addition, active commuting may enhance social cohesion, community livability and transport equity [15][16][17], improve safety to all road users [18], save fuel and reduce motor vehicle emissions. A previous study predicted that if recommended daily exercise was swapped for transportation, this could reduce 38% of US oil consumption (for walking and cycling) and 11.9% of US's 1990 net emissions (for cycling), and could burn 12.2 kg of fat per person annually (for walking) and 26.0 kg of fat per person annually (for cycling) [19]. ...
... Reliance on Fossil fuel powered transport for individuals and its associated decrease in active forms of transport are also seen as a major contributor towards the obesity epidemic 12,13,14,15 . ...
There are mixed attitudes to the affect Personal Carbon Trading (PCT) can have on global warming and carbon emissions. The NICHE (Norfolk Island Carbon Health Evaluation) project has been developed to explore attitudes towards PCT. The researchers have designed the project to investigate links between health, obesity and an individual’s carbon footprint. The first stages of the project undertaken in 2012 involve development of point-of-sale applications, personal carbon consumption web site and collection of data to establish a baseline measuring key health indicators and attitudes to climate change and PCT. This paper reports the findings from the correlation analysis of the key variables from the baseline survey. Correlation analysis was used to examine relationships among the variables. The significant relationships identified from the baseline survey will be reexamined in the latter stages of the project during 2014. © Alex Hendry, Gary Webb, Garry Egger, Bruce Armstrong and William Smart 2013.
... Cycling as an active mode of transportation holds the potential to reduce traffic congestion and air pollution, and promotes an active lifestyle which in turn improves public health (Andersen et al., 2000;Higgins, 2005;Mueller et al., 2015). The health benefits of active commuting by bicycle are well established (Mueller et al., 2015;de Geus et al., 2008de Geus et al., , 2009Oja et al., 2011). ...
Background:
Cycling, as an active mode of transportation, has well-established health benefits. However, the safety of cyclists in traffic remains a major concern. In-depth studies of potential risk factors and safety outcomes are needed to ensure the most appropriate actions are taken to improve safety. However, the lack of reliable exposure data hinders meaningful analysis and interpretation. In this paper, we review the bicycle safety literature reporting different methods for measuring cycling exposure and discuss their findings.
Methods:
A literature search identified studies on bicycle safety that included a description of how cycling exposure was measured, and what exposure units were used (e.g. distance, time, trips). Results were analyzed based on whether retrospective or prospective measurement of exposure was used, and whether safety outcomes controlled for exposure.
Results:
We analyzed 20 papers. Retrospective studies were dominated by major bicycle accidents, whereas the prospective studies included minor and major bicycle accidents. Retrospective studies indicated higher incidence rates (IR) of accidents for men compared to women, and an increased risk of injury for cyclists aged 50 years or older. There was a lack of data for cyclists younger than 18 years. The risk of cycling accidents increased when riding in the dark. Wearing visible clothing or a helmet, or having more cycling experience did not reduce the risk of being involved in an accident. Better cyclist-driver awareness and more interaction between car driver and cyclists, and well maintained bicycle-specific infrastructure should improve bicycle safety.
Conclusion:
The need to include exposure in bicycle safety research is increasingly recognized, but good exposure data are often lacking, which makes results hard to interpret and compare. Studies including exposure often use a retrospective research design, without including data on minor bicycle accidents, making it difficult to compare safety levels between age categories or against different types of infrastructure. Future research should focus more on children and adolescents, as this age group is a vulnerable population and is underrepresented in the existing literature.
... We could not agree more, and the EAB seems to fit nicely into the picture. Although the electric motor cannot be considered as entirely ''green,'' it most certainly produces no direct emission of CO 2 (15), except the one exhaled by the exercising rider sitting on it. ...
... Much research has focused on how to realize these emission caps. The main strategies have been described as follows: energy and technology innovation (Advenier et al. [7]; Steenhof and McInnis [3]; Grahn et al. [8]; Thomas [9]; Yang et al. [10]; Kaufman et al. [11]; Lutsey [12]; Andress et al. [13]; Wang et al. [14]; Blackman et al. [15]), policy implementation (DeCicco and Mark [16]; Piattelli et al. [17]; Bristow et al. [18]; Hickman et al. [4]; Schipper et al. [19]; Abrell [20]; Morrow et al. [21]; Yan and Crookes [22]; Waisman et al. [23]), transportation structure adjustment (Knittel [24]; Brogan et al. [25]) and other methods (Higgins [26]; Banister et al. [27]). ...
In this paper, transportation carbon efficiency is redefined, and its inputs and outputs are obtained from a literature review. Carbon, capital and labor are selected as the inputs, and passenger turnover volume and freight turnover volume are defined as the outputs. A new model, a virtual frontier DEA (virtual frontier Data Envelopment Analysis), is applied to evaluate transportation carbon efficiencies, and cases from 15 countries during the period of 2003–2010 are analyzed to verify the results. Next, a Tobit regression model is applied to identify the important influencing factors of transportation carbon efficiency. The results indicate that compared to the technology factor and management factor, the influencing degree of a structure factor is relatively small.
... Encouraging the co-benefits of health and environmental wellness is not new, but relatively few designs have addressed these two concerns simultaneously in the HCI community. Higgins points out that carbon emissions and obesity can be reduced through exercise-based transportation [18,19,20]. Likewise, Source Map calculates the carbon footprints of product supply chains and transportation [7]. ...
Energy Diet is a design concept for a digital bathroom scale that displays personal health information in the form of body weight alongside environmental health information in the form of carbon weight. We intentionally conflate these two types of feedback in an effort to encourage people to regularly monitor their energy use as they weigh themselves and to reflect on the complex relationships between personal health and environmental health. To inform our design we tested paper prototypes and administered two surveys with 500 participants. We then created a working prototype that we deployed in four participants' homes for one month each. This paper discusses findings and design implications from our surveys and in-home deployment. Overall, seeing carbon weight together with body weight on a scale helped participants to conceptualize energy consumption and to reflect on a range of daily activities and their environmental impacts. Author Keywords Environmental sustainability; eco-feedback; bathroom scale; health and fitness ACM Classification Keywords H.5.m. Information interfaces and presentation (e.g., HCI): Miscellaneous. INTRODUCTION
... This may also increase physical activity, improve health, reduce emissions and save fuel. 2,3,39 While the 'coordinated implementation of the multifaceted, mutually reinforcing set of policies' is required as in European countries, 40 much could be done in the short term, e.g. reducing the speed limit in residential streets. ...
Background:
Bicycle use, despite its proven health and other benefits, is rarely part of everyday travel for many people due to the perceived risk of injury from collision crashes. This article investigated the role of physical vs. attention conspicuity in preventing bicycle crashes involving a motor vehicle in New Zealand.
Methods:
The Taupo Bicycle Study involved 2590 adult cyclists recruited in 2006 (43.1% response rate) and followed for bicycle crash outcomes through linkage to four national databases. A composite measure of physical conspicuity was created using latent class analysis based on the use of fluorescent colours, lights and reflective materials, and the main colour of top, helmet and bike frame. Attention conspicuity was assessed based on regional differences in travel patterns and the amount of riding in a bunch. Cox regression modelling for repeated events was performed with multivariate adjustments.
Results:
During a median follow-up period of 6.4 years, 162 participants experienced 187 bicycle-motor vehicle crashes. The crash risk was not predicted by the four latent classes identified and the amount of bunch riding but was higher in Auckland, the region with the lowest level of bicycle use relative to car use. In subgroup analyses, compared to other latent classes, the most physically conspicuous group had a higher risk in Auckland but a lower risk in other regions.
Conclusion:
Conspicuity aids may not be effective in preventing bicycle-motor vehicle crashes in New Zealand, particularly in Auckland, where attention conspicuity is low.
... Using a bicycle, despite its proven health and other benefits [1][2][3], is rarely part of everyday travel in many countries due to concerns about traffic safety [4][5][6][7]. Cyclists generally bear a higher risk of injury than most other types of road users, per hour spent travelling [8,9] but the risk differs between and within countries [10][11][12][13][14][15]. ...
Regular cycling plays an important role in increasing physical activity levels but raises safety concerns for many people. While cyclists bear a higher risk of injury than most other types of road users, the risk differs geographically. Auckland, New Zealand's largest urban region, has a higher injury risk than the rest of the country. This paper identified underlying factors at individual, neighbourhood and environmental levels and assessed their relative contribution to this risk differential.
The Taupo Bicycle Study involved 2590 adult cyclists recruited in 2006 and followed over a median period of 4.6 years through linkage to four national databases. The Auckland participants were compared with others in terms of baseline characteristics, crash outcomes and perceptions about environmental determinants of cycling. Cox regression modelling for repeated events was performed with multivariate adjustments.
Of the 2554 participants whose addresses could be mapped, 919 (36%) resided in Auckland. The Auckland participants were less likely to be Maori but more likely to be socioeconomically advantaged and reside in an urban area. They were less likely to cycle for commuting and off-road but more likely to cycle in the dark and in a bunch, use a road bike and use lights in the dark. They had a higher risk of on-road crashes (hazard ratio: 1.47; 95% CI: 1.22, 1.76), of which 53% (95% CI: 20%, 72%) was explained by baseline differences, particularly related to cycling off-road, in the dark and in a bunch and residing in urban areas. They were more concerned about traffic volume, speed and drivers' behaviour.
The excess crash risk in Auckland was explained by cycling patterns, urban residence and factors associated with the region's car-dominated transport environment.
... Regular cycling provides significant health (Andersen et al., 2000;Bassett et al., 2008;Oja et al., 2011) and other benefits (Higgins, 2005;Litman, 2012). Despite this, cycling is not a popular mode of travel in New Zealand (Tin Tin et al., 2009) and accounts for only 2% of total travel time (Ministry of Transport, 2012a). ...
Objective:
To estimate the incidence and risk of medically or police attended bicycle crashes in a prospective cohort study in New Zealand.
Method:
The Taupo Bicycle Study involved 2590 adult cyclists recruited from the country's largest cycling event in 2006 and followed over a median period of 4.6 years through linkage to four administrative databases. Incidence rates with Poisson distribution confidence intervals were computed and Cox regression modelling for repeated events was performed.
Results:
The 66 on-road crashes and 10 collisions per 1000 person-years corresponded to 240 crashes and 38 collisions per million hours spent road cycling. The risk increased by 6% and 8% respectively for an extra cycling hour each week. There were 50 off-road crashes per 1000 person-years. Residing in urban areas and in Auckland (region with the lowest level of cycling), riding in a bunch, using a road bike and experiencing a previous crash predicted a higher risk. Habitual use of conspicuity aids appeared to lower the risk.
Conclusion:
The risk is higher in urban areas and where cycling is less common, and increased by bunch riding and previous crashes. These findings alongside the possible protective effect of conspicuity aids suggest promising approaches to improving cycle safety.
... Regular cycling provides health and other benefits [1][2][3][4]. However, in New Zealand, using a bicycle is not an attractive mode of travel for many people [5] and accounts for only 2% of total travel time [6]. ...
Background
Bicycling, despite its health and other benefits, raises safety concerns for many people. However, reliable information on bicycle crash injury is scarce as current statistics rely on a single official database of limited quality. This paper evaluated the completeness and accuracy of crash data collected from multiple sources in a prospective cohort study involving cyclists.
Methods
The study recruited 2438 adult cyclists from New Zealand’s largest mass cycling event in November 2006 and another 190 in 2008, and obtained data regarding bicycle crashes that were attended by medical personnel or the police and occurred between the date of recruitment and 30 June 2011, through linkage to insurance claims, hospital discharges, mortality records and police reports. The quality of the linked data was assessed by capture-recapture methods and by comparison with self-reported injury data collected in a follow-up survey.
Results
Of the 2590 cyclists who were resident in New Zealand at recruitment, 855 experienced 1336 crashes, of which 755 occurred on public roads and 120 involved a collision with a motor vehicle, during a median follow-up of 4.6 years. Log-linear models estimated that the linked data were 73.7% (95% CI: 68.0%-78.7%) complete with negligible differences between on- and off-road crashes. The data were 83.3% (95% CI: 78.9%-87.6%) complete for collisions. Agreement with the self-reported data was moderate (kappa: 0.55) and varied by personal factors, cycling exposure and confidence in recalling crash events. If self-reports were considered as the gold standard, the linked data had 63.1% sensitivity and 93.5% specificity for all crashes and 40.0% sensitivity and 99.9% specificity for collisions.
Conclusions
Routinely collected databases substantially underestimate the frequency of bicycle crashes. Self-reported crash data are also incomplete and inconsistent. It is necessary to improve the quality of individual data sources as well as record linkage techniques so that all available data sources can be used reliably.
... predicted that a 38% reduction in oil consumption could be realized if recommended daily exercise was swapped for transportation. Specifically for bicycling, an 11.9% reduction of the U.S.'s 1990 net emissions could be observed (Higgins, 2005). The United States has great potential to experience noticeable benefits from a transition to alternative transportation, as the United States is currently a highly motor vehicle dependent country. ...
... In the United Kingdom, drivers walk half the distance compared with people with no car, totaling 124 miles (200 km) by foot less per year, according to the Institute for European Environmental Policy (Davis et al., 2007); as a result of giving up walking, a driver contributed to 0.42 additional tons of CO 2 in 2005, based on the National Travel Survey. Data from the United States indicate that substitution of driving with walking could reduce the US oil consumption by up to 38% (Higgins, 2005). Changing travel modes to public transportation has been recognized as one of the best strategies for moving to low carbon transport (Woodcock et al., 2007). ...
Using data from a regional survey carried out in Montreal, this paper shows empirical evidence that modal shift from car to transit contributes to the volume of daily physical activity. First, the paper presents a method to calculate the walking distance related to transit trips, and a totally disaggregate trip assignment model. The walking distance involved in every transit trip is then associated to the individuals' characteristics to estimate the number of steps made by the population in the whole transit system. Results show that, in average, a transit trip involves 1250 steps, required to access and egress the network as well as to transfer between routes or modes. Thus, a round trip represents 2500 steps, which account for 25% of the recommended volume of physical activity per day. Hence, analysis shows that the volume of walking varies according to attributes of the traveler (general decrease with age, higher for men) and of the trip (study and work trip involve more steps, the use of train generates more steps). A regression model confirms that these variables significantly affect the number of steps involved in transit trips. Such positive outcome, for the traveler himself, is an innovative argument to promote the use of transit that is also aligned with current sustainable transportation goals.
... Cycling either for recreation or for transport plays an important role in increasing physical activity levels and is suitable for people of all ages, gender and backgrounds. In addition to its proven health benefits9101112, cycle commuting may enhance social cohesion, community liveability and transport equity [13,14], improve safety to all road users [15], save fuel and reduce motor vehicle emissions [16]. In New Zealand, road cycling was ranked as the fifth most popular sport and recreation activity but only one-fifth of adults reported engaging in such activity at least once over twelve months [17]. ...
Cycling has the potential to provide health, environmental and economic benefits but the level of cycling is very low in New Zealand and many other countries. Adverse weather is often cited as a reason why people do not cycle. This study investigated temporal and seasonal variability in cycle volume and its association with weather in Auckland, New Zealand's largest city.
Two datasets were used: automated cycle count data collected on Tamaki Drive in Auckland by using ZELT Inductive Loop Eco-counters and weather data (gust speed, rain, temperature, sunshine duration) available online from the National Climate Database. Analyses were undertaken using data collected over one year (1 January to 31 December 2009). Normalised cycle volumes were used in correlation and regression analyses to accommodate differences by hour of the day and day of the week and holiday.
In 2009, 220,043 bicycles were recorded at the site. There were significant differences in mean hourly cycle volumes by hour of the day, day type and month of the year (p < 0.0001). All weather variables significantly influenced hourly and daily cycle volumes (p < 0.0001). The cycle volume increased by 3.2% (hourly) and 2.6% (daily) for 1°C increase in temperature but decreased by 10.6% (hourly) and 1.5% (daily) for 1 mm increase in rainfall and by 1.4% (hourly) and 0.9% (daily) for 1 km/h increase in gust speed. The volume was 26.2% higher in an hour with sunshine compared with no sunshine, and increased by 2.5% for one hour increase in sunshine each day.
There are temporal and seasonal variations in cycle volume in Auckland and weather significantly influences hour-to-hour and day-to-day variations in cycle volume. Our findings will help inform future cycling promotion activities in Auckland.
... We could not agree more, and the EAB seems to fit nicely into the picture. Although the electric motor cannot be considered as entirely ''green,'' it most certainly produces no direct emission of CO 2 (15), except the one exhaled by the exercising rider sitting on it. ...
Electrically assisted bicycles (EAB) are an emerging transportation modality favored for environmental reasons. Some physical effort is required to activate the supporting engine, making it a potential active commuting option.
We hypothesized that using an EAB in a hilly city allows sedentary subjects to commute comfortably, while providing a sufficient effort for health-enhancing purposes.
Sedentary subjects performed four different trips at a self-selected pace: walking 1.7 km uphill from the train station to the hospital (WALK), biking 5.1 km from the lower part of town to the hospital with a regular bike (BIKE), or EAB at two different power assistance settings (EAB high, EAB std). HR, oxygen consumption, and need to shower were recorded.
Eighteen sedentary subjects (12 female, 6 male) age 36 ± 10 yr were included, with V·O 2max of 39.4 ± 5.4 mL·min(-1)·kg(-1). Time to complete the course was 22 (WALK), 19 (EAB high), 21 (EAB std), and 30 (BIKE) min. Mean %V·O 2max was 59.0%, 54.9%, 65.7%, and 72.8%. Mean %HRmax was 71.5%, 74.5%, 80.3%, and 84.0%. There was no significant difference between WALK and EAB high, but all other comparisons were different (P < 0.05). Two subjects needed to shower after EAB high, 3 needed to shower after WALK, 8 needed to shower after EAB std, and all 18 needed to shower after BIKE. WALK and EAB high elicited 6.5 and 6.1 METs (no difference), whereas it was 7.3 and 8.2 for EAB std and BIKE.
EAB is a comfortable and ecological transportation modality, helping sedentary people commute to work and meet physical activity guidelines. Subjects appreciated ease of use and mild effort needed to activate the engine support climbing hills, without the need to shower at work. EAB can be promoted in a challenging urban environment to promote physical activity and mitigate pollution issues.
EcoSanté is a mobile lifestyle intervention that encourages individual behavior change while also helping participants understand the deep connections between daily lifestyle choices and our collective impact on the planet. Informed by research on “small” intervention approaches, we sent participants daily behavioral challenges that demonstrated connections between personal health and environmental impact at large. Through a 20-day mobile intervention study, 139 participants uploaded 1,920 submissions documenting their attempts to engage in these challenges. We found that participants’ self-reported healthy eating behavior and general self-efficacy improved significantly immediately after the intervention. Moreover, 30 days after the intervention, participants’ self-reported eating, exercise, and general self-efficacy all significantly improved compared to the beginning of the study. Participants had a more negative reaction when being asked to come up with their own challenges. Based on quantitative and qualitative findings, we provide implications for future researcher on mobile behavior intervention research.
Active transportation is defined as self-propelled, human-powered transportation modes, such as walking and bicycling. In this article, we review the evidence that reliance on gasoline-powered transportation is contributing to global climate change, air pollution, and physical inactivity and that this is harmful to human health. Global climate change poses a major threat to human health and in the future could offset the health gains achieved over the last 100 yr. Based on hundreds of scientific studies, there is strong evidence that human-caused greenhouse gas emissions are contributing to global climate change. Climate change is associated with increased severity of storms, flooding, rising sea levels, hotter climates, and drought, all leading to increased morbidity and mortality. Along with increases in atmospheric CO2, other pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide, ozone, and particulate matter (e.g., PM2.5) are released by combustion engines and industry, which can lead to pulmonary and cardiovascular diseases. Also, as car ownership and vehicle miles traveled have increased, the shift toward motorized transport has contributed to physical inactivity. Each of these global challenges has resulted in, or is projected to result in, millions of premature deaths each year. One of the ways that nations can mitigate the health consequences of climate change, air pollution, and chronic diseases is through the use of active transportation. Research indicates that populations that rely heavily on active transportation enjoy better health and increased longevity. In summary, active transportation has tremendous potential to simultaneously address three global public health challenges of the 21st century.
Cycling helps reduce traffic congestion, environmental pollution and promote a healthy lifestyle for the general public. However, it could also expose cyclists to dangerous environments, resulting in severe consequences and even death. Transport authorities are seeing growing accidents in city regions with increasing cycling population, requiring the development of new risk informed cycling safety policies. This paper aims to develop a new conceptual risk analysis approach based on a Bayesian network (BN) technique to enable the analysis and prediction of the severity of cycling accidents. To identify the risk factors influencing accident severity, 2,269 cycling accident reports from the UK city region were manually collected, where primary data was extracted and analysed. An advanced data training method (i.e. Tree Augmented Naïve Bayes (TAN)) for BN development was applied to investigate their correlation and their individual and combined contributions to cycling accident severity. As a result, the risk factors influencing accident severity are prioritised in terms of their risk contribution. The risk levels of accident severity can be predicted in dynamic situations based on the data from simulated and/or real cycling environments. The findings can provide useful insights for making rational cycling safety policies in proportion to different risk levels.
Biking is a means of sustainable transport and is expected to grow over the next few years. Cyclists are more vulnerable road users than car, bus, and truck drivers. This is a pilot study aimed at generating information on the use of bike safety equipment and high-visibility clothing among Italian adult cyclists and identifying factors associated with safety gear use. Data from a European study involving a web survey of 2,470 cyclists were analyzed. The sample was composed of 62% males, the sample median age was 54, and the proportion of those using a city bike was about 72%. The association between individual and bike characteristics and the use of bicycle safety equipment—light and reflectors—and high-visibility clothing were studied with regression logistic models. The results showed that cyclists who use conspicuous clothing were males, older, came from the South, rode more than 60 km, and used bike safety devices. Riders who used all or at least one item of safety gear rode city bikes and used high-visibility clothing. The data provided a first step in filling the gap in knowledge concerning individual-based safety measures and bike safety equipment use in Italy.
The increasing passengerization of transportation through shared ride services and driverless vehicles has the potential to vastly change the transportation system. Although values are sometimes considered in the design of information tools and through attitudes toward travel, the systematic approach of value sensitive design (VSD) should be used in the design of transportation infrastructure to create a sustainable transportation future.
Objectives:
Obesity has become a global issue with abundant evidence to indicate that the prevalence of obesity in many nations has increased over time. The literature also reports a strong association between obesity and economic development, but the trend that obesity growth rates may converge over time has not been examined. We propose a conceptual framework and conduct an ecological analysis on the relationship between economic development and weight gain. We also test the hypothesis that weight gain converges among countries over time and examine determinants of weight gains.
Study design:
This is a longitudinal study of 34 Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries in the years 1980-2008 using publicly available data.
Methods:
We apply a dynamic economic growth model to test the hypothesis that the rate of weight gains across countries may converge over time. We also investigate the determinants of weight gains using a longitudinal regression tree analysis.
Results:
We do not find evidence that the growth rates of body weight across countries converged for all countries. However, there were groups of countries in which the growth rates of body weight converge, with five groups for males and seven groups for females. The predicted growth rates of body weight peak when gross domestic product (GDP) per capita reaches US37,000 for females in OECD countries. National levels of consumption of sugar, fat and alcohol were the most important contributors to national weight gains.
Conclusion:
National weight gains follow an inverse U-shape curve with economic development. Excessive calorie intake is the main contributor to weight gains.
In this study, we use a qualitative methodology to identify and compare factors of the built environment influencing the decision to walk for short trips in two different Spanish cities: Valencia and Granada. Three focus groups were held in Valencia and two in Granada with participants who undertook, at least once a week, one short non-shopping trip in any travel mode (were “short trip” is defined as less than 30–45 min walking distance). A thematic analysis of the data using the software QSR NVivo was performed after the transcription of the video recordings. Results show that participants perceive more facilitators to walking in Granada than in Valencia, explained by the smaller size of the former city and the driving restriction policy in the city centre of Granada for private cars. The main common barriers to walking in the two cities were: insecurity from crime (absence of people, a poor street lighting or walking along a conflictive area), a high density of traffic lights and walking along large avenues. In the city of Valencia, crossing multi-lane avenues and large-diameter roundabouts are deterrents to walking. In Granada, very steep streets motivate the use of alternative travel modes.
Objective This paper examines the relationship between bicycle collisions and the amount of cycling at the local level. Most previous research has focused on national and city comparisons, little is known about differences within a city (the mesoscale).
Methods This study mainly used three types of data sets relating to bicycle collisions, use of bicycles and local neighbourhood characteristics in Hong Kong. In particular, bicycle usage, measured as bicycle-kilometres travelled, was estimated from travel surveys following the activity-based approach. Negative binomial regression models were established to model the relationship between the amount of cycling and the occurrence of bicycle collisions at the spatial scale of the Tertiary Planning Unit, which is the smallest planning unit of the city.
Results The numbers of bicycle collisions went up with the increasing use of bicycles, but the increase in the number of collisions in a given community was less than a linear proportion of the bicycle flow. When other local neighbourhood variables are controlled, the amount of cycling is a statistically significant variable in accounting for the number of collisions.
Conclusions Even in a highly motorised city where bicycles are a minor transport mode, cyclists are less likely to be involved in road collisions in communities with higher cycling volume. Since cycling activities are likely to vary within a city, a more local-based approach in promoting cycling is needed. In particular, the higher safety risks in neighbourhoods of low bicycle usage, especially at an initial stage of promoting cycling, need to be addressed properly.
In a world of increasing traffic congestion, a grassroots movement is carving out a niche for bicycles on city streets. Pedaling Revolution: How Cyclists Are Changing American Cities. explores the growing bike culture that is changing the look and feel of cities, suburbs, and small towns across North America. From traffic-dodging bike messengers to tattooed teenagers on battered bikes, from riders in spandex to well-dressed executives, ordinary citizens are becoming transportation revolutionaries. Jeff Mapes traces the growth of bicycle advocacy and explores the environmental, safety, and health aspects of bicycling. He rides with bicycle advocates who are taming the streets of New York City, joins the street circus that is Critical Mass in San Francisco, and gets inspired by the everyday folk pedaling in Amsterdam, the nirvana of American bike activists. Chapters focused on big cities, college towns, and America's most successful bike city, Portland, show how cyclists, with the encouragement of local officials, are claiming a share of the valuable streetscape.
Regular cycling provides health, environmental and economic benefits but is rarely part of everyday travel for many people. The real and perceived risk of injury is commonly cited as a significant deterrent to engaging in such activity and motor vehicles are regarded as a particular threat. Bicycle-motor vehicle collisions often result from the driver's failure to detect the cyclist in time, suggesting that conspicuity may be a contributing factor. This paper provides an overview of bicycle travel, injury risk and conspicuity in New Zealand, based on the findings of a PhD research project conducted in 2008–14. The findings of the Taupo Bicycle Study, a prospective cohort study involving 2,590 adult cyclists, were used in conjunction with aggregate or de-identified data from routinely collected national databases.
Objectives
To estimate the number of walking steps resulting from shifting short motorized trips to walking at a population level and determine the weight gain from not operating this transfer.
Methods
Analyses are based on data from the 2008 Origin-Destination Survey carried out in the Greater Montreal Area (Canada). This survey collects geocoded information on all trips (motorized or not) made by 5% of the population during a typical weekday. Using appropriate stride lengths for various population segments, short motorized trips were converted into steps to see how many steps per day could be performed by transferring these trips to walking. Until they are performed, these steps are accounted for “steps in reserve”.
Results
During a typical 2008 weekday, 7.72% of daily motorized trips were flagged as walkable. These trips account for 608 million steps, an average of 2380 daily steps per person. Shifting short motorized trips to walking would allow 8.33% of the population to increase its level of daily physical activity.
Conclusions
Shifting short motorized trips to walking offers a valuable opportunity for increasing daily physical activity and might also help reduce weight gain at a population level.
Pretty (2006) offered a valuable perspective on the psychological benefits of exercise in green environments. This makes intuitive sense, for who among us does not recognize the personal benefits we receive from being active and surrounded by nature's beauty? The quantitative support that Pretty (2006) offered confirms this anecdotal experience, and provides an extremely valuable contribution to the debate.
This paper starts from the premise that, particularly in industrialized countries, the consumption decisions made by individuals and households are a major source of environmental strain. Several international organizations and national governments have addressed this issue, but, thus far, their efforts have had minimal effect. This paper examines the conditions necessary for the implementation of policy able to effectively reduce the environmental impact of household consumption. It draws from the experience of American tobacco control, a relatively rare example of a public effort that succeeded in reducing the negative consequences of an entitled consumer behaviour.
An extensive review of the tobacco control literature informs the conclusion that three fundamental changes brought about conditions conducive to a widespread reduction in smoking, namely, information about its negative effects became common knowledge and was widely believed as true; cigarettes became a target for taxes that raised the price of smoking while placing a penalty on a behaviour increasingly seen as ‘bad’; the public sentiment regarding smoking shifted, deglamourizing the behaviour. The paper further suggests that these changes, which were the result of a concerted public effort, have a similar potential in reducing environmentally unsustainable consumption. A closer tying of consumption to the issue of climate change is suggested as a primary facilitating strategy.
To assess regional variations in rates of traffic injuries to pedal cyclists resulting in death or hospital inpatient treatment, in relation to time spent cycling and time spent travelling in a car.
Cycling injuries were identified from the Mortality Collection and the National Minimum Dataset. Time spent cycling and time spent travelling as a driver or passenger in a car/van/ute/SUV were computed from National Household Travel Surveys. There are 16 census regions in New Zealand, some of which were combined for this analysis to ensure an adequate sample size, resulting in eight regional groups. Analyses were undertaken for 1996-99 and 2003-07.
Injury rates, per million hours spent cycling, varied widely across regions (11 to 33 injuries during 1996-99 and 12 to 78 injuries during 2003-07). The injury rate increased with decreasing per capita time spent cycling. The rate also increased with increasing per capita time spent travelling in a car. There was an inverse association between the injury rate and the ratio of time spent cycling to time spent travelling in a car. The expected number of cycling injuries increased with increasing total time spent cycling but at a decreasing rate particularly after adjusting for total time spent travelling in a car.
The findings indicate a 'risk in scarcity' effect for New Zealand cyclists such that risk profiles of cyclists are likely to deteriorate if fewer people use a bicycle and more use a car.
Cooperative efforts to promote cycling and its safety and to restrict car use may reverse the risk in scarcity effect.
Objective:
To encourage increased participation in physical activity among Americans of all ages by issuing a public health recommendation on the types and amounts of physical activity needed for health promotion and disease prevention.
Participants:
A planning committee of five scientists was established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American College of Sports Medicine to organize a workshop. This committee selected 15 other workshop discussants on the basis of their research expertise in issues related to the health implications of physical activity. Several relevant professional or scientific organizations and federal agencies also were represented.
Evidence:
The panel of experts reviewed the pertinent physiological, epidemiologic, and clinical evidence, including primary research articles and recent review articles.
Consensus process:
Major issues related to physical activity and health were outlined, and selected members of the expert panel drafted sections of the paper from this outline. A draft manuscript was prepared by the planning committee and circulated to the full panel in advance of the 2-day workshop. During the workshop, each section of the manuscript was reviewed by the expert panel. Primary attention was given to achieving group consensus concerning the recommended types and amounts of physical activity. A concise "public health message" was developed to express the recommendations of the panel. During the ensuing months, the consensus statement was further reviewed and revised and was formally endorsed by both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American College of Sports Medicine.
Conclusion:
Every US adult should accumulate 30 minutes or more of moderate-intensity physical activity on most, preferably all, days of the week.
Unlabelled:
Clinical, epidemiological and basic research evidence clearly supports the inclusion of regular physical activity as a tool for the prevention of chronic disease and the enhancement of overall health. In children, activities of a moderate intensity may enhance overall health, and assist in preventing chronic disease in at-risk youth. The numerous health benefits of regular exercise are dependent on the type, intensity and volume of activity pursued by the individual. These benefits include reduction of low density lipoproteins while increasing high density lipoprotein; improvement of glucose metabolism in patients with type II diabetes; improved strength, self esteem and body image; and reduction in the occurrence of back injuries. In addition, a progressive, moderate-intensity exercise program will not adversely effect the immune system and may have a beneficial effect on the interleukin-2/natural killer cell system. Furthermore, by decreasing sedentary behaviors and, thus, increasing daily physical activity, individuals may experience many stress-reducing benefits, which may enhance the immune system.
Conclusion:
Moderate intensity exercise of a non-structured nature seems to facilitate most of the disease prevention goals and health promoting benefits. With new guidelines promoting a less intense and more time-efficient approach to regular physical activity, it is hoped that an upward trend in the physical activity patterns, and specifically children at risk for chronic disease, will develop in the near future.
Overweight and obesity are increasing dramatically in the United States and most likely contribute substantially to the burden of chronic health conditions.
To describe the relationship between weight status and prevalence of health conditions by severity of overweight and obesity in the US population.
Nationally representative cross-sectional survey using data from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III), which was conducted in 2 phases from 1988 to 1994.
A total of 16884 adults, 25 years and older, classified as overweight and obese (body mass index [BMI] > or =25 kg/m2) based on National Institutes of Health recommended guidelines.
Prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus, gallbladder disease, coronary heart disease, high blood cholesterol level, high blood pressure, or osteoarthritis.
Sixty-three percent of men and 55% of women had a body mass index of 25 kg/m2 or greater. A graded increase in the prevalence ratio (PR) was observed with increasing severity of overweight and obesity for all of the health outcomes except for coronary heart disease in men and high blood cholesterol level in both men and women. With normal-weight individuals as the reference, for individuals with BMIs of at least 40 kg/m2 and who were younger than 55 years, PRs were highest for type 2 diabetes for men (PR, 18.1; 95% confidence interval [CI], 6.7-46.8) and women (PR, 12.9; 95% CI, 5.7-28.1) and gallbladder disease for men (PR, 21.1; 95% CI, 4.1-84.2) and women (PR, 5.2; 95% CI, 2.9-8.9). Prevalence ratios generally were greater in younger than in older adults. The prevalence of having 2 or more health conditions increased with weight status category across all racial and ethnic subgroups.
Based on these results, more than half of all US adults are considered overweight or obese. The prevalence of obesity-related comorbidities emphasizes the need for concerted efforts to prevent and treat obesity rather than just its associated comorbidities.
The prevalence of obesity and overweight increased in the United States between 1978 and 1991. More recent reports have suggested continued increases but are based on self-reported data.
To examine trends and prevalences of overweight (body mass index [BMI] > or = 25) and obesity (BMI > or = 30), using measured height and weight data.
Survey of 4115 adult men and women conducted in 1999 and 2000 as part of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), a nationally representative sample of the US population.
Age-adjusted prevalence of overweight, obesity, and extreme obesity compared with prior surveys, and sex-, age-, and race/ethnicity-specific estimates.
The age-adjusted prevalence of obesity was 30.5% in 1999-2000 compared with 22.9% in NHANES III (1988-1994; P<.001). The prevalence of overweight also increased during this period from 55.9% to 64.5% (P<.001). Extreme obesity (BMI > or = 40) also increased significantly in the population, from 2.9% to 4.7% (P =.002). Although not all changes were statistically significant, increases occurred for both men and women in all age groups and for non-Hispanic whites, non-Hispanic blacks, and Mexican Americans. Racial/ethnic groups did not differ significantly in the prevalence of obesity or overweight for men. Among women, obesity and overweight prevalences were highest among non-Hispanic black women. More than half of non-Hispanic black women aged 40 years or older were obese and more than 80% were overweight.
The increases in the prevalences of obesity and overweight previously observed continued in 1999-2000. The potential health benefits from reduction in overweight and obesity are of considerable public health importance.
Stabilizing the carbon dioxide–induced component of climate change is an energy problem. Establishment of a course toward
such stabilization will require the development within the coming decades of primary energy sources that do not emit carbon
dioxide to the atmosphere, in addition to efforts to reduce end-use energy demand. Mid-century primary power requirements
that are free of carbon dioxide emissions could be several times what we now derive from fossil fuels (∼1013 watts), even with improvements in energy efficiency. Here we survey possible future energy sources, evaluated for their capability
to supply massive amounts of carbon emission–free energy and for their potential for large-scale commercialization. Possible
candidates for primary energy sources include terrestrial solar and wind energy, solar power satellites, biomass, nuclear
fission, nuclear fusion, fission-fusion hybrids, and fossil fuels from which carbon has been sequestered. Non–primary power
technologies that could contribute to climate stabilization include efficiency improvements, hydrogen production, storage
and transport, superconducting global electric grids, and geoengineering. All of these approaches currently have severe deficiencies
that limit their ability to stabilize global climate. We conclude that a broad range of intensive research and development
is urgently needed to produce technological options that can allow both climate stabilization and economic development.
H ere is a great irony of 21st-century global public health: While many hundreds of millions of people lack adequate food as a result of economic inequities, political corruption, or warfare, many hundreds of millions more are overweight to the point of increased risk for diet-related chronic
Purpose:
To determine the relationship between urban sprawl, health, and health-related behaviors.
Design:
Cross-sectional analysis using hierarchical modeling to relate characteristics of individuals and places to levels of physical activity, obesity, body mass index (BMI), hypertension, diabetes, and coronary heart disease.
Setting:
U.S. counties (448) and metropolitan areas (83).
Subjects:
Adults (n = 206,992) from pooled 1998, 1999, and 2000 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS).
Measures:
Sprawl indices, derived with principal components analysis from census and other data, served as independent variables. Self-reported behavior and health status from BRFSS served as dependent variables.
Results:
After controlling for demographic and behavioral covariates, the county sprawl index had small but significant associations with minutes walked (p = .004), obesity (p < .001), BMI (p = .005), and hypertension (p = .018). Residents of sprawling counties were likely to walk less during leisure time, weigh more, and have greater prevalence of hypertension than residents of compact counties. At the metropolitan level, sprawl was similarly associated with minutes walked (p = .04) but not with the other variables.
Conclusion:
This ecologic study reveals that urban form could be significantly associated with some forms of physical activity and some health outcomes. More research is needed to refine measures of urban form, improve measures of physical activity, and control for other individual and environmental influences on physical activity, obesity, and related health outcomes.
Reliance on oil as an energy source for private transportation produces increasingly unfavorable social, political and environmental conditions including climate change, dependence on foreign oil, and the need for difficult choices between oil production and protection of biological systems. At the same time, the population is increasingly sedentary due largely to our reliance on the automobile for transportation. Adoption and maintenance of healthy weights and healthier lifestyles by substituting walking or biking for short trips currently taken by car could simultaneously improve health and reduce oil consumption and carbon dioxide emissions. We calculate the reduction in oil consumption and carbon dioxide emissions possible in the United States if (1) obese and overweight conditions were eliminated from the adult population through the use of walking or biking for transportation, and (2) individuals between the ages of 10 and 64 adopted previously recommended levels of daily exercise by walking or biking instead of driving. Substantial co-benefits accompany widespread adoption of physical activity. Assuming substitution of cycling for driving, the reduction in gasoline demand is equivalent to 34.9% of current domestic oil consumption. This constitutes considerably more oil than is recoverable from the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The concomitant reduction in US carbon dioxide emissions would constitute approximately 10.9% relative to 1990 net US emissions and would be a substantial step toward satisfying the Kyoto Protocol.
The purpose of this paper is to assess the economic costs of inactivity (including those attributable to obesity). These costs represent one summary of the public health impact of increasingly sedentary populations in countries with established market economies. Components of the costs of illness include direct costs resulting from treatment of morbidity and indirect costs caused by lost productivity (work days lost) and forgone earnings caused by premature mortality.
We searched the Medline database for studies reporting the economic costs of obesity or inactivity, or cost of illness. From the identified references those relating to obesity or conditions attributable to obesity were reviewed. Chronic conditions related to inactivity include coronary heart disease (CHD), hypertension, Type II diabetes, colon cancer, depression and anxiety, osteoporotic hip fractures, and also obesity. Increasing adiposity, or obesity, is itself a direct cause of Type II diabetes, hypertension, CHD, gallbladder disease, osteoarthritis and cancer of the breast, colon, and endometrium. The most up-to-date estimates were extracted. To estimate the proportion of disease that could be prevented by eliminating inactivity or obesity we calculated the population-attributable risk percent. Prevalence based cost of illness for the U.S. is in 1995 dollars.
The direct costs of lack of physical activity, defined conservatively as absence of leisure-time physical activity, are approximately 24 billion dollars or 2.4% of the U.S. health care expenditures. Direct costs for obesity defined as body mass index greater than 30, in 1995 dollars, total 70 billion dollars. These costs are independent of those resulting from lack of activity.
Overall, the direct costs of inactivity and obesity account for some 9.4% of the national health care expenditures in the United States. Inactivity, with its wide range of health consequences, represents a major avoidable contribution to the costs of illness in the United States and other countries with modern lifestyles that have replaced physical labor with sedentary occupations and motorized transportation.
To describe and evaluate relationships between body mass index (BMI) and blood pressure, cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C), and hypertension and dyslipidemia.
A national survey of adults in the United States that included measurement of height, weight, blood pressure, and lipids (National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III 1988-1994). Crude age-adjusted, age-specific means and proportions, and multivariate odds ratios that quantify the association between hypertension or dyslipidemia and BMI, controlling for race/ethnicity, education, and smoking habits are presented.
More than one-half of the adult population is overweight (BMI of 25 to 29.9) or obese (BMI of > or =30). The prevalence of high blood pressure and mean levels of systolic and diastolic blood pressure increased as BMI increased at ages younger than 60 years. The prevalence of high blood cholesterol and mean levels of cholesterol were higher at BMI levels over 25 rather than below 25 but did not increase consistently with increasing BMI above 25. Rates of low HDL-C increased and mean levels of HDL-C decreased as levels of BMI increased. The associations of BMI with high blood pressure and abnormal lipids were statistically significant after controlling for age, race or ethnicity, education, and smoking; odds ratios were highest at ages 20 to 39 but most trends were apparent at older ages. Within BMI categories, hypertension was more prevalent and HDL-C levels were higher in black than white or Mexican American men and women.
These data quantify the strong associations of BMI with hypertension and abnormal lipids. They are consistent with the national emphasis on prevention and control of overweight and obesity and indicate that blood pressure and cholesterol measurement and control are especially important for overweight and obese people.
The increased rate of obesity in the past decade is caused by a larger rate of energy input than energy expenditure. But this simple explanation belies the complexity of the possible solutions: Education about obesity needs to improve for both the medical community and the public. Successful treatment will require reforms of medical practice as well as more research to facilitate the development of new drugs.
In their efforts to lose weight, obese individuals may be fighting a powerful set of evolutionary forces honed in an environment
drastically different from that of today.
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