East End on the move
Active Travel

 

Read about the health benefits of active travel. 

Active Travel

Put simply, active travel is using your own power to travel. Active travel doesn’t have to take up the whole journey, you could walk to a bus stop, use the bus, then walk to your destination. Alternatively you could use ‘park and stride’ to drive to a convenient carpark near your destination then walk the rest of the way, rather than trying to park outside. Walking and cycling are the most common forms of active travel, but there’s nothing to stop you rowing along the Clyde or skateboarding into town as well.

Active living & health benefits of walking/cycling


Being fit and healthy’s not difficult, just a little bit of activity each day makes a big difference. 10 minutes walk to the shops, then back again instead of taking the bus will help reduce weight and decrease your chances of getting ill.

Active travel uses fat as a fuel, so as you travel, you’re getting healthier for free. As well as saving money on joining a gym, active travel saves more money on transport costs. Walking costs nothing, and several local groups will be working to supply the East End with low cost bikes.

Active travel is particularly important for children and young people. Pupils who walk to school will develop better immune systems and healthier bodies, giving them a head start in life and less chance of developing illnesses or becoming obese as they get older.

Adults are recommended to do 30 minutes of moderate activity on most days of the week to stay healthy, this shouldn’t be too hard. For example you could walk 5 minutes to the school and back, then again in the afternoon, with another 10 minute walk down to the shops. There’s plenty of other ways you can clock up the minutes with cycling to work or walking to visit friends.

Try using a free East End on the move pedometer to see how many steps you take in a day, you could try setting yourself targets or seeing if you can beat your friend’s weekly totals!

3000 steps is roughly the same as 30 minutes walking, but don’t worry if this sounds too much at first. Do what you can and you’ll be amazed at how quickly the steps count up.

Physical activity helps reduce risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and some cancers (3) other benefits included perceptions of enhanced well-being, self-confidence, tolerance to stress, and reductions in difficulty sleeping (1)

The order of the difference in fitness in favour of cyclists is equivalent to that enjoyed by being five years younger (cycling in general) or up to 10 years younger (for regular cyclists).(2)

We want to change the environment of Glasgow’s east end to make it easier to walk and cycle and to help you feel better about where you live. These changes will include better signage, wider footways, new cycle routes and improving the landscape.

The rate walking and jogging burns calories is based on the distance you travel, so although jogging burns calories quicker, you also cover the ground quicker, so at the end of 1 mile, the jogger and walker will have burnt up the same number of calories (although the jogger will have more time to go for food afterwards)

‘Nothing compares to the simple pleasure of a bike ride’ ~J.F.Kennedy

references:

1)Boyd, H., et al 1998 Health-related effects of regular cycling on a sample of previous non-exercisers, Resume of main findings

2) Tuxworth, W., Nevill, A., White, C., Jenkins, C. 1986 Health, fitness, physical activity, and morbidity of middle aged male factory workers, British Journal of Industrial Medicine, 43: 733-753

3) 1 Blair, S. 2009 Physical inactivity: the biggest public health problem of the 21st century, British Journal of Sports Medicine