Population-level Interventions Based on Walking and Cycling as a Means to Increase Physical Activity

Hiwa M Ahmed,Muhammed Babakir-Mina

doi:10.5334/paah.87

Abstract

Physical activity can assist in decreasing the risk of such non-communicable diseases as coronary heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes by up to 50% and can also promote mental wellbeing. Recently, the guidance for adults has been amended to recommend 30 minutes, 5 times per week of moderate to vigorous-intensity. The objective of this study was to report physical activity among UK populations via walking and cycling. This study analysed data from The Health Survey for England (HSE), Department of Health and Social Care, The Association for the Study of Obesity, The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), and Department for Transport. The recommended level of physical activity for man decrease significantly with increasing age, from 53% at age 16–24 to 16% at 65 plus. The proportion of women in physical activity is substantially lower, particularly once they reach the age of 65, with approximately 12% of women aged over 65 reaching the recommended levels versus 28–36% of younger women. In children, 72% of boys and 63% of girls aged between 2–15, are physically active for a duration of 60 minutes or more per week, which declines for girls after the age of 10. According to reports, walking is the most common, while cycling is the fourth most popular recreational and physical activity among the adults in the UK. An increase in the physically active population could influence health, the environment and the economy.

Highlights

Physical activity can be defined as any bodily activity that improves physical fitness and overall health and wellness, and which requires energy expenditure (Waxman & World, 2004; Bouchard et al, 2012)
The study conducted via searching in multiple relevant websites such as; The Health Survey for England (HSE), Department of Health and Social Care, Statistics on Obesity, Physical Activity and Diet – England, The Association for the Study of Obesity, The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), Department for Transport
Not at all like proper exercise projects, strolling and cycling can be coordinated into day by day schedules and are moderate for all intents and purposes everybody

Summary

Introduction

Physical activity can be defined as any bodily activity that improves physical fitness and overall health and wellness, and which requires energy expenditure (Waxman & World, 2004; Bouchard et al, 2012). Due to the significant advantages associated with fitness training, a recent study has shown that reaching national recommended minimum levels of physical activity leads to a reduction of 19% in all-cause mortality compared with no activity, and this could increase to 24% by adding an hour per day of physical activity (Woodcock et al, 2011). This indicates that a greater amount and intensity of activity is associated with lower risk of morbidity and mortality (positive dose-response). It is estimated that a lack of physical activity is accounting for approximately 21–25% of breast and colon cancers, 27% of diabetes and 30% of ischaemic heart disease (IHD) (AlvarezAlvarez et al, 2018)

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