Walking, cycling, and obesity rates in Europe, North America and Australia

Journal of Physical Activity and Health

Volumn 5, Issue 6, 2008, Pages 795-814

  Bassett, David R ^a   Pucher, John ^b   Buehler, Ralph ^b   Thompson, Dixie L ^a   Crouter, Scott E ^c  

^a UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE   (United States)

^b RUTGERS UNIVERSITY   (United States)

^c UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS BOSTON   (United States)

Author keywords

Active transportation; Bicycling; Commuting; Exercise; Obesity; Physical activity; Transportation; Travel; Walking

Indexed keywords

EID: 57849155913     PISSN: 15433080     EISSN: 15435476     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1123/jpah.5.6.795     Document Type: Article

References (65)

1. Pucher J, Dijkstra L. Promoting safe walking and cycling to improve public health: lessons from the Netherlands and Germany. Am J Public Health. 2003;93:1509-1516.
2. Greenberg M, Lane R, Zupan J, Renne J. Physical activity and use of suburban train stations: an exploratory analysis. J Public Transp. 2005;8:89-116.
3. Transportation Research Board. Making Transit Work: Insight From Western Europe, Canada, and the United States. Washington, DC: National Academy of Sciences Press; 2001.
4. Pucher J. Transportation trends, problems, and policies: an international perspective. Transp Res Part Policy Pract. 1999;33:494-503.
5. Bell AC, Ge K, Popkin BM. The road, to obesity or the path to prevention: motorized transportation, and obesity in China. Obes Res. 2002;10:277-283.
6. Frank LD, Andresen MA, Schmid TL. Obesity relationships with community design, physical activity, and time spent in cars. Am J Prev Med. 2004;27:87-96.
7. Ainsworth BE, Haskell WL, Whitt MC, et al. Compendium, of Physical Activities: an. update of activity codes and MET intensities. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2000;32:S498-S516.
8. US Department of Health and Human Services. The Surgeon General's Call to Action to Prevent and Decrease Overweight and Obesity. Rockville, MD: US Dept of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service; 2001.
9. Bouchard C, Shepard RJ, Stephens T, Sutton JR, McPherson BD. Exercise, Fitness, and Health: A Consensus of Current Knowledge. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics; 1990.
10. Maddison A. The World Economy: Historical, Statistics. Paris, France: Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Publications Service; 2003.
11. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Summary of Food and Agricultural Statistics, 2004. Rome, Italy: FAO of the United Nations; 2004:75.
12. Eurostat. Short distance passenger mobility in Europe. Statistics in Focus. Transport. 2005; (May): 1-7.
13. Kunert U, Kloas J, Kuhfeld H. Design Characteristics of National Travel Surveys: International Comparison for 10 Countries. Transportation Research Record 1804. Washington, DC: Transportation Research Board, National Research Council; 2002:107-116.
14. Schafer A. Regularities in travel demand: an international perspective. J Transp Stat. 2000;December:1-31.
15. Verma V. Comparability in international survey statistics. Paper presented at: International Conference on Improving Surveys; August 25-28, 2002; Copenhagen.
16. International Association for the Study of Obesity. Adult overweight and obesity in European Union (EU 27). http://www.iotf.org/database/index.asp. Accessed February 12, 2007.
17. Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. Health at a Glance: OECD Indicators 2007. Paris, France: OECD Publications Service; 2007.
18. Gorber SC, Tremblay M, Moher D, Gorber B. A comparison of direct vs. self-report measures for assessing height, weight and body mass index: a systematic review. Obes Rev. 2007;8:307-326.
19. Visscher TLS, Viet AL, Kroesbergen HT, Seidell JD. Underreporting of BMI in adults and its effect on obesity prevalence estimations in the period 1.998 to 2001. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2006;14:2054-2063.
20. Crespo CJ, Keteyian SJ, Heath GW, Sempos CT. Leisure-time physical activity among US adults. Arch Intern Med. 1996;156:93-98.
21. Vaz de Almeida MD, Graca P, Afonso C, Amleto DA, Lappalainen R, Damkjaer S. Physical, activity levels and body weight in a nationally representative sample in the European Union. Public Health Nutr. 1999;2:105-113.
22. Department for Transport. Focus on Personal Travel, Including the Report of the National Travel Survey 2002/2003. London: Great Britain. National Travel Survey Unit, Statistics Travel; 2005.
23. Ewing R, Pendall R, Chen D. Measuring sprawl and its impact, www.smart-growthamerica.org. Accessed July 28, 2005.
24. 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;18:47-57.
25. Saelens B, Salus J, Black J, Chen D. Neighborhood-based differences in physical activity: an environment scale evaluation. Am J Public Health. 2003;93:1552-1558.
26. European Commission. Energy and transport in figures-statistical pocket book 2003. Statistical Office of the European Communities (Eurostat), http://europa.eu.int/comm/dgs/energy-transport/figures/pocketbook/2003-en.htm. Accessed July 21, 2004.
27. International Obesity Task Force, European Association. for the Study of Obesity. Obesity in Europe: the case for action. www.iotf.org/media/euobesity. pdf. Accessed September 8, 2004.
28. DiPietro L. Physical activity in the prevention of obesity: current evidence and research issues. Med Sei Sports Exerc. 1999;3.13:S542-S546.
29. World Health Organization. Obesity: Preventing and Managing the Global Epidemic. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization; 1998.
30. Beer-Borst S, Hercberg S, Morabia A, et al. Dietary patterns in six European populations: results from EURALIM, a collaborative European data harmonization and information campaign. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2000;54:253-262.
31. Rozin P, Kabnick K, Pete E, Fischler C, Shields C. The ecology of eating: smaller portion sizes in France than in the United States can help explain the French paradox. Psychol Sci. 2003;14:450-454.
32. Craig CL, Marshall AL, Sjostrom M, et al. International Physical Activity Questionnaire: 12-country reliability and validity. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2003;35:1381-1395.
33. Lindstrom M. Means of transportation to work and overweight and obesity: a population-based study in southern Sweden. Prev Med. 2008;46:22-28.
34. Wen LM, Rissel C. Inverse associations between cycling to work, public transport, and overweight and obesity: findings from a population based study in Australia. Prev Med. 2008;46:29-32.
35. Australian Bureau of Statistics. Method of travel to work. 2006 Census of Population and Housing. http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/ABSNavigation/prenav/ ViewData?breadcrumb=LPTD&method=Place%20of%20Usual%20Residence& subaction=-1&issue=2006&producttype=Census%20Tables& documentproductno=0&textversion=false&documenttype=Details& collection=census&javascript=true&topic= Transport%20Access%20%26%20Use&action=404&productlabel= Method%20of%20Travel%20to%20Work%20by%20Sex&order=.l&period= 2006&tabname=Details&areacode=0&navmapdisplayed=true&. Accessed February 10, 2008.
36. Austrian Federal Ministry of Transport. Innovation and technology, [transport in figures]. http://www.bm.vit.gv.at/verk.ehr/gesamtverkehr/ statistik/viz07/kap7.html. Accessed February 8, 2008.
37. Statistics Canada. Where Canadians work and how they get there, http://www.12.stat-can.ca/english/census01/Products/Analytic/companion/pow/ contents.cfm. Accessed. February 11, 2008.
38. Danish Ministry of Transport. Number of trips per person per day [in Danish]. http://www.dtu.dk/up.load/dtf/modelcenter/tu/standard%20tabeller/tran. sportmiddel/alder.html. Accessed February 10, 2008.
39. Ministry of Transport and Communications. Finland. The National Travel Survey 2004-2005. http://www.hlt.fi/english/modes.htm. Accessed February 9, 2008.
40. Federal Ministry of Transport. Germany FSO. Travel in Germany 2002: results at a glance [in German]. http://www.mobilitaet-in-deutschland.de/03-k. on.tiv2002/pdf/ergebmstelegramm-mobiltaet-in-deutschland-2002.pdf. Accessed February 10, 2008.
41. Central Statistics Office, Government of Ireland. Volume 12-Travel to work, school and college. http://www.cso.ie/census/census2006results/volume-12/ volume-12.pdf. Accessed February 9, 2008.
42. Statistics Netherlands. National Travel Survey [in Dutch]. http://www.swov.nl/cognos/cgi-bin/ppdscgi.exe?DC=Q&E=/English/Mobility/ National%20Travel%20Survey%20(NTS)&LA=de&LO=de&BACK= %2Fcognos%2Fcgi-bm%2Fppdscgi. exe%3Ftoc%3D%252FEnglish%252FMobility%26LA%3Dde%26LO%3Dde. Accessed February 11, 2008.
43. Swedish Institute for Transport and Communications Analysis. SIKA. The National Travel Survey. http://www.sik.a-institute.se/Doclib/2007/SikaStatistik/ ss-2007-19-eng.pdf. Accessed 10 February, 2008.
44. Federal Office for Spatial Development and Federal Statistical Office. Switzerland. Micro Census/ Travel Behavior 2005 [in German]. http://www.bfs.adm.in.ch/bfs/portal/de/index/themen/.11/07/01/02/01.html. Accessed February 8, 2008.
45. Department for Transport. United Kingdom. National Travel Survey. http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/statistics/datatablespublications/persona.l/ mainresults/nts2006/. Accessed February 10, 2008.
46. US Department of Transportation. National Household Travel Survey-Version 4.0. http://nhts.ornl.gov/download.shtml#2001. Accessed February 12, 2008.
47. Brown A, Siahpush M. Risk factors for overweight and obesity: results from the 2001 National Health Survey. Public Health. 2007;121:603-613.
48. Vanasse A, Demers M, Hemiari A, Courteau J. Obesity in Canada: where and how many? Int J Obes. 2006;30:677-683.
49. Bendixen H, Holst C, Sorensen TIA, Raben A, Bartels EM, Astrup A. Major increase in prevalence of overweight and obesity between 1987 and 2001 among Danish adults. Obes Res. 2004; 12:1464-1472.
50. Tikkinen KAO, Auvinen A, Huhlala H, Tammela TLJ. Nocturia and obesity: a population based study in Finland. Am J Epidemiol. 2006;163:1003-1011.
51. INSERM (Intitute Nationale de la Sante Et de la Researche Medicale). ObEpi, Obesity and Overweight in France: Epidemiologic Survey Performed in a Representative Sample of the French Adult Population [in French]. Neuilly-sur-Seine: Institute Roche de L'Obesitie, Sofres; 2003.
52. Federal Statistical Office-Germany. Body measures of the population by age groups, results from the micro-census in April 1999 [in German]. http://www.destatis.de/cgibin/printview.pl. Accessed June 14, 2007.
53. Gallus S, Colombo P, Scarpino V, et al. Overweight and obesity in Italian adults 2004, and an overview of trends since 1983. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2006;60:1174-1179.
54. McCarthy SN, Gibney MJ, Flynn A, Livingstone MBE. Overweight, obesity, and physical activity levels in Irish adults: evidence from the North/South Ireland Food Consumption Survey. Proc Nutr Soc. 2002;61:3-7.
55. Schokker DF, Visscher TLS, Nooyens ACJ, van Baak MA, Seidell JC. Prevalence of overweight and obesity in the Netherlands. Obes Rev. 2006;8:101-107.
56. Martinez JA, Moreno B, Martinez-Gonzalez MA. Prevalence of obesity in Spain. Obes Rev. 2004;5:171-172.
57. Sundquist K, Qvist J, Johansson S-E, Sundquist J. Increasing trends of obesity in Sweden between. 1996/97 and 2000/01. Int J Obes. 2004;28:254-261.
58. Eichholzer M, Bernasconi F, Jordan P, Gutzwiller F. Nutrition in Switzerland 2002: results of the Swiss Health Survey. Schweiz Rundsch Med Prax. 2005;94:1713-1721.
59. Ni H, Schiller J, Hao C, Cohen RA, Barnes P. Early release of selected estimates based on data from the 2002 National Health Interview Survey. National Center for Health Statistics, www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhis.htm. Accessed February 13, 2008.
60. Dalton M, Cameron AJ, Zimmet PZ, Shaw JE, Jolley D, Dunstan DW. Waist circum-ference, waist-hip ratio and body mass index and their correlation with cardiovascular disease risk factors in Australian adults. J Intern Med. 2003;254:555-563.
61. Luo W, Morrison H, deGroh M, et al. The burden of adult obesity in Canada. Chronic Dis Can. 2007;27:135-144.
62. Rennie KL, Jebb SA. Prevalence of obesity in Great Britain. Obes Rev. 2005;6:11-12.
63. Pomerleau J, Pudule I, Grinberga D, et al. Patterns of body weight in the Baltic Republics. Public Health Nutr. 2000;3:3-10.
64. Anderssen SA, Engeland A, Sogaard AJ, Nystad. W, Graff-Iversen S, Holme I. Changes in physical activity behavior and the development of body mass index during the last 30 years in Norway [published online ahead of print July 23, 2007]. Scand J Med Sci Sports. PMID: 17645730.
65. Ogden CL, Carroll MD, McDowell MA, Flegal KM. Obesity Among Adults in the United States- No Change Since 2003-04. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics; 2007.