"There is a proven way to improve the health of a nation": Concerning
obesity statistics spark calls for greater promotion of cycling and walking

West Midlands walking and cycling commissioner Adam Tranter pointed out
that active travel has the "added benefits of saving people money and
fitting into existing routines"...

by DAN ALEXANDER
MON, DEC 18, 2023 12:08

The publication of NHS figures, showing hospital admissions linked to
obesity have doubled in six years to more than 3,000 people a day, has
prompted renewed calls for the government to prioritise active travel and
use cycling as a "proven way to improve the health of a nation".

That comment came from the West Midlands' walking and cycling commissioner
Adam Tranter who shared the figures, reported on the front page of today's
edition of The Times (link is external), alongside a call for active travel
to be part of the solution.

"There is a proven way to improve the health of a nation: by designing our
urban areas to promote walking and cycling," he told followers on X, the
social media platform formerly called Twitter. "Active travel has the added
benefits of saving people money and fitting into existing routines. Even
the gentlest of exercise can transform health outcomes."

The NHS figures show that hospital ward admissions linked to obesity have
doubled in six years and now stand at more than 3,000 people a day. There
are three times as many admissions linked to obesity than there are linked
to smoking, and more than 20 children a day are admitted in cases linked to
obesity, a figure that has doubled.

In terms of cost, figures suggest the estimated cost of obesity to the NHS
is £98 billion a year, which includes £19 billion of NHS treatment and £15
billion in economic productivity losses.

And while Daisy Cooper, the deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats, told
The Times that the Conservative government has "squandered numerous
opportunities to make the UK a healthier place to live", active travel was
not mentioned explicitly in her comments or the rest of the article.

Cooper accused the government of "choosing to kick the can down the road
time and again".

"All this is having a huge impact on people's wellbeing, not to mention on
our NHS and economy. Investing in improving public health would not only
reduce pressure on the NHS, it would help get more people back to work and
boost our economy," she said.

Sir Chris Whitty, the government's chief medical officer, has spoken about
the benefits of cycling too, last year urging people to use the bicycle to
tackle obesity.

Applauding "imaginative" active travel schemes introduced during the
pandemic, he said "the idea that the UK is a country [where] you can't
actually do cycling is clearly incorrect" and labelled physical exercise
one of the "most effective ways of improving health".

"And active transport is a particularly important way to do this because it
builds it into people's normal routines of daily life, rather than being
seen as something that is separate," he said.

Cycling UK too has advocated cycling as a means of tackling obesity,
especially among children, and in 2017 argued getting more kids cycling
should be a public health priority.

Responding to the most recent NHS figures, a government spokesperson said:
"We are taking strong action to encourage healthier food choices and to
tackle obes­ity across all socio-economic groups and in deprived areas,
recognising that it is the second biggest cause of cancer."

<https://road.cc/content/news/obesity-statistics-spark-calls-more-cycling-305715>

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