Workshop H 2, Tuesday 20 June, 14.00 - 15.30

Cycling and walking compared

Fiona Crawford, Senior Health Promotion Officer, Greater Glasgow Health Board, UK Nanette Mutrie, Senior lecturer, University of Glasgow, UK Avril Blamey , Programme Manager, Greater Glasgow Health Board, UK Claire Carney , Researcher, University of Glasgow , UK Promoting Active Commuting - Success for Walking but not for Cycling A pack entitled 'Walk in to work out' was designed to encourage people to walk or cycle to work. Employees (n=295) from three workplaces, who were thinking about walking or cycling to work, were randomly assigned to an Intervention or Control group.  The Intervention group (IG) received the pack immediately whilst the Control group  (CG) waited 6 months for the pack.  Both groups completed questionnaires, which explored physical activity, motivations and perceptions of health at baseline, 6 and 12 months. Focus groups provided qualitative information on these topics. The results indicate that the pack was successful in encouraging walking but not cycling. The IG was almost twice as likely to increase minutes walked to work as the CG at 6 months. The IG also reported greater improvements in physical and mental health functioning at 6 months in comparison to the CG.  Only eighteen participants from the whole group reported cycling to work at 6 months, nine from the CG and nine from the IG. There were no differences in the reported average weekly minutes of cycling between the IG and CG. Follow-up focus group research identified less surmountable barriers faced by cyclists compared to walkers, for example, provision of safe cycle routes, cycle locking facilities etc. It is suggested that future work aimed at increasing the level of cycling in the UK needs to be a collaboration of structural, environmental and behavioral interventions.

Bill Wilkinson, Executive Director, Bicycle Federation of America Public Health Advocacy for Bicycling, Why, what, and how. One of the most popular campaigns in the U.S. to promote bicycling took place in the mid-1950s. It was lead by Dr. Paul Dudley White, President Eisenhower's heart specialist, who advocated bicycling for cardiovascular health. Today, public health agencies and officials are again calling for more bicycling -- to help increase physical activity and reduce the risk of chronic disease. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US) estimate that physical inactivity contributes to at least 300,000 premature deaths each year in the U.S. Public health agencies in many parts of the world are taking up this issue, including the UK, Australia, Canada, the US, and the WHO (with its "Charter on Transport, Environment and Health). The public health community understands that land-use planning and transport policies are key determinants of how much bicycling (and walking) there will be in communities. To bring about real change, they are focusing on what they call "environmental and policy interventions." Now, they are conducting research studies to learn more about the kinds of actions that are most effective in making communities more bicycle-friendly, and how best to make the desired changes (in policies and the environment) come about. The challenge to bicycle advocates is to learn how best to work with these new allies to bring about real, sustained improvements that promote bicycling in our communities.