54-57
Allison Street, Digbeth Birmingham, B5 5TH
tel 0121 632 6753
January
12, 2005
|
54-57
Allison Street, Digbeth Birmingham, B5 5TH |
| Cycling and walking in Soho..the health and cost benefits Dear Councillor |
| 1 | Diabetes is increasing at 10% year, and
cycling/walking reduce the risk of diabetes 50%. There are 25,634 people
in Soho, and 8% will be diabetic (2050 patients). Thus in 10 years there
may be 4100 people with diabetes. But if 50% of us started cycling as
in Amsterdam, the increase would be negligible. |
| 2 | Obesity.....cycling and walking halve the amount of obesity
& heart diesase. Obesity is likely to cost £4.25m/year in Soho
, at todays prices, in 2015...as it will then account for 17% of the healthcare
budget, reducing the amount spent on other conditions. If 50% cycled or
walked these costs would be halved. Similarly, for every 256 (1%) extra cyclists in Soho, there would be £21,000/year less needed treating obesity, and nearly 128 fewer people obese. |
| 3 | Cancer risks are halved by regular exercise. There are about 75 deaths each year from cancer in Soho . For every 8 people cycling/walking, 1 case of cancer will be prevented. Thus, if half the population cycled or walked every day, 19 deaths/year would be prevented in Soho. |
| 4 | Road traffic accidents cause about 3 deaths or serious
injuries in Soho each year. The World Heath Authority notes that if
speeds were 10mph slower, risks would be halved, that is 1.5/year. In
addition, slower speeds make cycling and walking safer and more popular.
|
| 5 | Crime costs Soho £25m/year, and there are about 50 serious crimes a year in the ward. It is known that exercise such as cycling and walking reduces criminal behaviour by about 33%. On this basis, every 1% increase in cycling/walking would be likely to save £80,000/year in Soho by reducing crime. |
| 6 | Education expenditure is £25m/year in Soho. Educational achievement increases 18% with sports programs, so the ward would gain nearly £2.25m in extra educational value and qualifications if the number of peope taking regular exercise increased by 50%, or about £50,000 increase in achievement for each 1% (256) extra walking or cycling. |
| 7 | Mental health costs £3m/year in Soho. Again, exercise reduces depression and improves mental health in 40-50%. This would be likely to result in mental health savings of £30,000 for every 256 (1%) increase in cycling or walking in Soho . In addition, there would be less time off sick, and much less family disruption. |
| 8 | Substance abuse and drug use costs may be expected to
be about £25m/year in Soho. Yet substance abuse is reduced by
30% in those that exercise regularly. Once again, savings could be expected to be £100,000 year for each 256 (1%) increase in cycling or walking, with less smoking, binge drinking, and other drug use. |
| 9 | Social exclusion and urban deprivation are worst in poorer sections and ethnic minority parts of the community. These are the people with the worst health who would gain the most cycling and walking more. Teenage pregnancy rates are also lower with exercise. |
| 10 | Blindness and partial sight are also related to lack
of exercise, as lack of exercise increases rates of diabetic retinopathy,
and almost certainly macular degeneration (Macular degeneration is linked
to smoking, and smoking rates are lower in those that exercise, and higher
blood pressure, which is also lower with exercise). |
| 11 | Pollution would be greatly reduced by cycling, walking,
bus lanes, and less traffic. Nearly 8% of cardiovascular disease in the
city may be attributed to road pollution, and probably a similar number
from cancer. In Soho, about 150 people die each year from heart disease and cancer, perhaps 12 of these due to pollution from cars. The only cost effective way of reducing pollution is encouraging more cycling and walking, and providing an efficient bus service, which requires bus lanes and less car traffic. |
| At present cycling and walking rates are reducing in Soho, roads are faster than ever, traffic increasing, bus lanes are being abandoned in the city, with massive increases in obesity and diabetes. Planned pro-cycling and walking measures will not be not sufficient to significantly influence behaviour or make cycling safer, and Dr Jacky Chambers' advice has been ignored for years. We have shown there would be great benefits of more cycling and walking
to the people of Soho. But to achieve this we need such measures as
cycle paths, slower speeds, more bus lanes, less traffic, and Primary
Care Trusts supporting cycling and walking officers encouraging individuals
to cycle. Yours sincerely,
|
| References | this page
and the abstracts/full articles can be viewed online... www.brum.org > Be Cycling > Soho |
| Cycling network & model | http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment/cycling/cycling_en.pdf |
| diabetes | http://www.rcn.org.uk/news/congress2002/congressitems/diabetes.php |
| obesity | http://www.healthaffairs.org/press/mayjune0302.htm
|
| cancer | Am J Epidemiol.
2004 Nov 1;160(9):860-7. Link Am J Epidemiol. 1996
Jul 1;144(1):42-50.
Link |
| road safety and speed | http://www.who.int/world-health-day/2004/infomaterials/world_report/en/ http://www.who.int/world-health-day/2004/infomaterials/world_report/en/main_messages_en.pdf http://www.who.int/world-health-day/2004/infomaterials/world_report/en/speed_en.pdf Evaluation of the
health effects of a neighbourhood traffic calming scheme Link |
| crime | http://www.ausport.gov.au/fulltext/2003/aic/rpp49.pdf |
| education | http://www.aic.gov.au/publications/tandi/ti249.pdf Soc Sci Med. 2003
Aug;57(4):577-93.Link J Epidemiol Community
Health
Link Prev Med. 2004 Dec;39(6):1115-25. Link |
| mental
health |
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/en14962
Eur J Public
Health. 2001 Sep;11(3):294-300. Link Health Educ Res.
1999 Apr;14(2):225-33. Link Cost of drug use http://www.gdcada.org/stories/price.htm |
| teenage pregnancy rate is higher in those without exercise |
J Adolesc Health. 1999 Sep;25(3):207-16. Link |
| ethnicity |
Med Sci Sports
Exerc. 1998 Nov;30(11):1608-15 Link. |
| diabetic retin. | http://medweb.bham.ac.uk/easdec/prevention/diabetes_and_the_family.htm |
| macular degeneration | http://www.goodhope.org.uk/departments/eyedept/armd%20patho l.htm#A%20healthy%20lifestyle |
| pollution | http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3991633.stm http://airviro.smhi.se/cgi-bin/airweb.station.cgi?Bristol_street&first |