• Human Impact Partners
  • Human Impact Partners
  • Human Impact Partners
  • Human Impact Partners
  • Human Impact Partners

Human Impact Partners Evidence Base

Evidence Base Home » Transportation » Active transportation can contribute to the physical activity required for good health

Articles in Active transportation can contribute to the physical activity required for good health.

  • People walk on average 70 minutes longer in pedestrian-oriented communities.

    Frank LD, Schmid TL, Sallis JF, Chapman J, Saelens BE. Linking objectively measured physical activity with objectively measured urban form: findings from SMARTRAQ. Am J Prev Med. 2005;28(2, Suppl 2):117-125.

  • Urban areas where people use cars less show higher rates of walking and lower rates of obesity and hypertension.

    Ewing R, Schmid T, Killingsworth R, Zlot A, Raudenbush S. Relationship between urban sprawl and physical activity, obesity, and morbidity. Am J Health Promot. 2003;18(1):47-57.

  • Authors of a study in Atlanta, GA reported that car-friendly communities had almost double the rate of obesity as pedestrian-friendly communities (22% vs. 12%).

    Frank LD, Saelens BE, Powell KE, Chapman JE. Stepping towards causation: do built environments or neighborhood and travel preferences explain physical activity, driving, and obesity? Soc Sci Med. 2007;65:1898-1914.

  • A study in Atlanta, GA looked at people living in walkable vs. car-dependent neighborhoods, and found that those living in car-dependent neighborhoods drove an average of 43 miles per day (vs. 26 miles for residents of walkable neighborhoods), and walked much less (only 3% walked vs. 34% in walkable areas).

    Frank LD, Saelens BE, Powell KE, Chapman JE. Stepping towards causation: do built environments or neighborhood and travel preferences explain physical activity, driving, and obesity? Soc Sci Med. 2007;65(9):1898-1914.

  • Transportation and land use patterns can have beneficial effects on health by encouraging physical activity and walking for leisure.

    Frank LD, Sallis JF, Conway T, Chapman J, Saelens B, Bachman W. Many pathways from land use to health: associations between neighborhood walkability and active transportation, body mass index, and air quality. J Am Plann Assoc. 2006;72(1):75-87.

  • Health benefits pf physical activity specific to children include strengthened bones during a period of critical growth, increased confidence and self-esteem, and decreased risk of childhood obesity rates.

    Bailey DA, McKay HA, Mirwald RL, Crocker PR, Faulkner RA. J Bone Miner Res. 1999;14(10):1672-1679.
    US Department of Health and Human Services. Physical activity and health: a report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta, GA: US Department of Health and Human Services, 1996.
    Institute of Medicine. Preventing childhood obesity: health in the balance. Washingon, DC:National Academies Press, 2005.

  • 16% of all recorded walking trips are part of transit trips, and these tend to be longer than average walking trips, according to an analysis of US travel survey data.

    Weinstein A, Schimek P. How much do Americans walk? an analysis of the 2001 NHTS. Presented at: Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting; January 9-13,2005; Washington, DC.

  • Americans who use public transit spend a median of 19 minutes daily walking to and from transit; 29% achieve > or = 30 minutes of physical activity a day solely by walking to and from transit.

    Besser LM, Dannenberg AL. Walking to public transit: steps to help meeting physical activity recommendations. Am J Prev Med. 2005;29(4):273-280.

  • A significant amount of time is spent driving; the average U.S. resident spends 443 hours in a car each year. This represents time that could otherwise be spent in productive or leisure activity.

    Ewing R, Frank L, Kreutzer R. Understanding the relationship between public health and the built environment: a report to the LEED-ND Core Committee. 2006. Available at: http://www.cnu.org/sites/www.cnu.org/files/leed_public_health.pdf. Accessed July 22, 2009.

  • Each additional hour spent in a car per day was associated with a 6% increase in the likelihood of obesity. Each additional hour walked per day was associated with a 4.8% reduction in the likelihood of obesity.

    Frank L, Andresen MA, Schmid TL. Obesity relationships with community design, physical activity, and time spent in cars. Am J Prev Med. 2004;27(2):87-96.

  • The more time a person spends in a car, the less time a person has to engage in leisure time physical activity.

    Lopez-Zetina J, Lee H, Friis R. The link between obesity and the built environment: evidence from an ecological analysis of obesity and vehicle miles of travel in California. Health Place. 2006;12(4):656-664.

  • Automobile use for all trips in different countries ranges from a low of 36% in Sweden to a high of 84% in the United States. Walking and bicycling levels are inversely correlated with automobile use: in lower auto-use countries such as Sweden, modal share of trips by walking or biking was above 40%, and in high auto-use countries, percentage of walking and biking was below 20%. In the US, walking or biking only accounted for about 10% of all trips.

    Frank LD, Engelke P. How land use and transportation systems impact public health: a literature review of the relationship between physical activity and the built form. Working Paper. Atlanta, GA: Active Community Environments Initiative. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/pdf/aces-workingpaper1.pdf. Accessed July 22, 2009.

  • Physical activity can prevent obesity; reduce risks of premature mortality, coronary heart disease, hypertension, colon cancer, and diabetes mellitus; reduce stress, depression, and anxiety; improve mental health and sense of well-being; and promote longevity.

    PolicyLink. Regional development and physical activity: issues and strategies for promoting health equity. 2002. Available at: http://www.policylink.org/Research/PhysicalActivity/. Accessed July 17, 2009.
    Task Force on Community Preventive Services. Increasing physical activity: a report on recommendations of the Task Force on Community Preventive Services. MMWR. 2001;50(RR-18):1-14.

  • Communities that are walkable and have access to transit generally have a lower dependence on automobiles and encourage physical activity.

    Source: Rodriguez DA, Khattak AJ, Evenson KR. 2006. Can new urbanism encourage physical activity? Journal of the American Planning Association; 72(1):43-54.

  • Studies have found that men who commute to work on public transportation are 44.6% less likely to be overweight or obese due to increased active commuting.

    Source: Zheng,Y. 2008.The benefit of public transportation: physical activity to reduce obesity and ecological footprint. Preventive Medicine; 46(1): 4-5.

  • A study found that commuting by public transportation instead of by car increased energy expenditures equivalent to the loss of one pound of body fat per six weeks.

    Source: Morabia A, Mirer FE, Amstislavski TM, Eisl HM,Werbe-Fuentes J, Gorczynski J, Goranson C,Wolff MS, Markowitz SB. Potential Health Impact of Switching From Car to Public Transportation When Commuting to Work. American Journal of Public Health; 100(12): 2388-2391