Senior Critique

Tuesday 8 May 2012

SOME THINGS ARE OBVIOUS

(Or at least Previously Been Shown to be True)

This is the subject of the article in CBC Health News on May 8, 2012.

Déjà vu all over again

"...a study in the Journal of Preventative Medicine, Am. J. Preventive Med. May 2012 , which discovered that the further people were forced to drive to work, the less time they spent being physically active. The longer they sat in the car, the heavier and less healthy they were.

I understand that researchers are just doing their jobs, asking questions, and compiling data. After all, if you are trying to convince an urban planning board why it should force developers to create spaces for bike paths in a new development, or build homes closer to where people work, it's nice to have a pile of science to make the case that it’s a good idea, improving health, lowering health care costs, and all of that. ...

... the Journal of Preventative Medicine, Am. J. Preventive Med. Aug 2004, reporting that each additional hour spent in a car per day was associated with a six per cent increase in the likelihood of obesity. Conversely, each additional kilometer walked per day was associated with a 4.8 per cent reduction in the likelihood of obesity. The authors concluded that city planners could affect population health if they designed cities to increase walking time and decrease driving time.

Then, in 2008 another study reported a similar finding, this time in the Jour. Physical Activity Nov 2008, looking at "active transportation," (walking, cycling and public transit) and obesity rates, the authors concluded that countries with the highest levels of active transportation, in other words, places where people had to expend physical energy to get to work, generally had the lowest obesity rates.

Two years later, in 2010, I reported the same thing, by the same authors, published in a different Journal, the Am. J. Public Health Oct 2010, That study concluded that countries with higher levels of walking and cycling had lower levels of adult obesity, that "travel behaviour could have a major influence on health and longevity" and cities should be designed to encourage people to cycle and walk to work." Kelly Crowe CBC News

One should not have to constantly re-prove that sitting in a car longer will make you more obese, which in turn puts you at greater health risk. Or, at least as the author suggests, publish these studies in the Journal of Obvious Conclusions.

Constructive Critique May 2012

Senior Critique

Thursday 10 May 2012

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Tuesday 8 May 2012