Active travel and healthy workplaces

Rachel Bromley, Sustrans

“In the UK, 25 million people travel to work every day and most – around 71% - choose to do so by car.”

Travel to Work factsheet, Department for Transport, 2007

Travel to work contributes to decline in physical activity levels

over 10 miles

2-5 miles

1-2 miles

under 1 mile

20%

7%

18%

34 %

5-10 miles

22%

Source: NTS 1999/2001 Update, Department for Transport (July 2002)

A quarter of all car trips are under 2 miles

So most car trips could be

walked or cycled

Inactive lifestyles contribute to a huge range of diseases•Obesity

•Coronary Heart Disease

•Diabetes

•Cancer

•Osteoporosis

•Mental health problems

•Arthritis

Predicted growth in obesity-related disease by 2030From “Our health, our care, our say” white paper

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

Stroke Angina Heart Attack Hypertension Type 2 diabetes

+5%

+12%

+18%

+28%

+54%

Source: Living in Britain 2004: Results from the 2002 General Household Survey; National Food Survey 2000 Table B1

Absenteeism• 172 million working days lost

to the British economy

• costs £20 billion to the

business and public sector

• and £100 billion to the wider

economy.

Source: CBI/AXA 2008 Absence and labour turnover survey, and Black, 2008 Working for a healthier tomorrow: Dame Carol Black’s review of the health of Britain’s working age population

The CMO’s recommendations

“For most people, the easiest and most acceptable forms of physical activity are those that can be incorporated into everyday life. Examples include walking or cycling instead of travelling by car…..”

At least five a week; the Chief Medical Officer’s report on physical activity, 2004

“The top five policy responses assessed as having the greatest average impact on levels of obesity [include]:

- increasing walkability / cyclability of the built environment…..”

Foresight Tackling Obesities report, Government Office for Science 2007

Making healthy living possible

Healthy employees benefit the employer• reduced absenteeism

• lower turnover rates

• improved productivity and

employee morale

• lower health care costs

Source: Sustrans, 2008 Active travel and healthy workplaces information sheet

;

NICE Guidelines: Promoting Physical Activity in the Workplace

NICE guidelines call on employers to invest in strategies that encourage all staff to be more active, with active travel to work playing a crucial role.

NICE Guidelines: Promoting Physical Activity in the Workplace

• encourage employees to walk

and cycle• provide information about walking

and cycling routes• introduce and monitor an

organisation-wide programme to

increase physical activity• set organisation goals for physical

activity levels

Active travel and healthy workplaces information sheet

Addresses the role of walking, cycling and other forms of physical activity in reducing levels of sickness absence from work.

Download from www.activetravel.org.uk

www.activetravel.org.uk

Further information