June 16, 2004

By: Becky Jager
Website: http://www.1st-in-fitness.com

Daily dose of healthy exercise as a result of choosing to travel to work on foot or by bike

A total of 122,057 workers in the North East get a daily dose of healthy exercise as a result of choosing to travel to work on foot or by bike. The vast majority - 105,271 - travel on foot, while 16,786 travel by bike. But the statistics reveal that a lower proportion of people in the North East exercise on their way to and from work than in the rest of Britain.

The information also showed that people from the North East towns/cities of Durham, Northumberland, Newcastle Upon Tyne and Sunderland get more exercise on the way to and from work than people living in Hartlepool, Darlington, Redcar and Cleveland and South Tyneside.

These figures will be discussed at the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy's Annual Representative Conference, which opens in Newcastle upon Tyne on Wednesday May 12, as part of wider debate and discussion around fostering a healthier approach to day to day living.

CSP Chair of Council, Grahame Pope, will address delegates at conference and says physiotherapists have a crucial role to play in promoting fitness and exercise to combat obesity and ill health. Commenting on the figures he said:

The chief medical officer for England recently urged people of all ages to exercise for at least 30 minutes a day, five days a week. Physios believe that making lifestyle changes, such as walking or cycling to work, can go a long way towards helping people to meet this challenge and we will be using our annual conference to consider ways in which the profession can help the public achieve their daily exercise targets and adopt healthier lifestyles in general.'

The report contains a breakdown of the number of people walking and cycling to work for each local authority area. The data was analysed for the CSP by NOMIS at the University of Durham from local area statistics in the 2001Census of Population.

A full breakdown for the North East - plus overall national and regional figures - is available from the PDF file download below. In summary, they show that people in certain areas of the country such as Kent, Hampshire, Lancashire, Edinburgh, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk, Surrey, Oxfordshire and Devon, find it far easier to travel to and from work on foot or by bike. In York, for example, 30% of the workforce walk or cycle to work, while in Edinburgh, Dundee, Aberdeen and Portsmouth the figure is about 25%.

The CSP's Annual Representative Conference takes place at the International Centre for Life in Newcastle upon Tyne on May 12 and 13. Around 300 people including chartered physiotherapists, students and assistants are expected to attend the two-day conference where several other motions have been put forward for discussion.

Author Notes:

Becky Jager contributes and publishes news editorial to http://www.1st-in-fitness.com.  A source of information and helpful tips on various types of fitness equipment.