(Press-News.org) More research and evaluation are needed to determine the most effective community programmes to encourage cycling, says a study published on bmj.com today.
The authors, led by Dr David Ogilvie from the Institute of Public Health in Cambridge, say that it is unclear whether community approaches to increase cycling amongst children and adults have anything more than a modest effect.
Established research shows that cycling is linked to greater cardio-respiratory fitness in adults and children. And general physical activity reduces the risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, some cancers, and premature mortality. However, most UK adults do not do enough physical activity, say the authors, so the desire to increase cycling is understandable, particularly as cycling is a form of physical activity that could be incorporated into many people's daily routines as a mode of transport, potentially resulting in both health and environmental benefits
The question remains, say the authors, are cycling initiatives effective? Ogilvie and colleagues carried out an exhaustive review of twenty-five studies from seven countries (Australia, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, the UK and the United States) that were linked to cycling promotion.
Several of the programmes specifically promoted cycling, one focused on targeted intervention in obese women and others were linked to improving cycle route networks to work or school.
The authors argue that the evidence is unclear on how effective such programmes are, concluding that most schemes were associated with a modest benefit of the order of a 3.4% increase in household trips made by bike.
They say it essential that future research contain more robust measures to evaluate the impact of cycling schemes delivered through schools and work. "Further controlled evaluative studies incorporating more precise measures are required, particularly in areas without an established cycling culture."
In an accompanying editorial, Professor Nanette Mutrie from the University of Strathclyde and Fiona Crawford from the Glasgow Centre for Population Health, stress that even modest gains from cycling schemes would have an effect on the health of the population.
They concur with Ogilvie and colleagues that more robust evaluation is needed about cycling promotion initiatives. They say: "better measurement of the impacts of interventions on levels of cycling and physical activity is necessary not only to inform future strategy and policy but also to strengthen the case that promoting cycling represents extremely good value for money for both individual and public health."
And in an editorial published by Student BMJ today, two obesity experts ask, will the public health benefits of London's new cycle hire scheme outweigh risks such as exposure to traffic fumes and crashes?
Harry Rutter and Nick Cavill from the National Obesity Observatory say "there appears to be little evidence of the impact of these schemes, especially in terms of health." But they believe that "if Londoners swap their cars for human-powered transport, the benefits will greatly outweigh the risks."
They conclude: "Policies such as congestion charging and the cycle hire scheme that contribute to a shift in the balance of urban traffic away from the car and towards cycling and walking have the potential to create major positive impacts on public health and wellbeing, not only in London, but in any town or city around the world."
INFORMATION: END
Spain's excellent record on organ donation rates has nothing to do with its presumed consent legislation, say experts in an article published on bmj.com today.
Professor John Fabre, from the Department of Hepatology and Transplantation at King's College London, Paul Murphy from the Department of Neuroanaesthesia and Critical Care at the Leeds General Infirmary, and Rafael Matesanz from the Orgaizacion Nacional de Trasplantes in Madrid say that the Spanish example shows that higher rates can be achieved without presumed consent.
Spain has the world's highest rate ...
A change to the way paramedics use oxygen when treating patients with chronic lung disease could cut the death rate in these cases by up to 78%, according to a new study published on bmj.com today.
Researchers based in Australia found the risk of death in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) was significantly reduced by using titrated (controlled) oxygen therapy instead of the current common approach of high concentration oxygen.
High concentration oxygen is used routinely by many paramedics in emergency situations for patients with acute breathlessness ...
Oxford, UK, 18 October 2010 – Elsevier announces the publication of the 2010 European Resuscitation Council (ERC) Guidelines in the journal Resuscitation. These guidelines are based on an extensive international review of all the science supporting cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), the 2010 International Consensus on CPR Science, which is also published in the current issue of Resuscitation. This year is the 50th anniversary of CPR.
Throughout Europe, each year, about 500,000 people have an out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrest. Less than 10% of these will survive. ...
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Celebrity journalism is often considered to be without merit, discounted due to its sensational details and lack of news value. MU researchers now say that celebrity journalism may be an underappreciated way to communicate health messages. In a recent award-winning paper, Amanda Hinnant, assistant professor of magazine journalism in the University of Missouri School of Journalism, found some readers of celebrity health stories report that the stories have an impact on their own behavior and how they discuss health issues.
Amanda Hinnant, assistant professor ...
A rethink is needed on the 'dire' situation of funding of databases across biology, researchers say.
A paper co-authored by Sabina Leonelli, Research Fellow at Egenis at the University of Exeter, reviews the business models currently used to deal with long-term sustainability of these resources, and suggests a 'global change' in funding policies is necessary.
"There is no point investing resources into collecting data, if the development of tools needed to disseminate and interpret those data is not supported. In this sense, building appropriate cyberinfrastructure ...
HOUSTON - Between 2010 and 2020, the demand for radiation therapy will exceed the number of radiation oncologists practicing in the U.S. tenfold, which could profoundly affect the ability to provide patients with sufficient access to treatment, according to new research from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.
The study, published in the October 18, 2010 issue of The Journal of Clinical Oncology, estimates that over the next decade, the number of cancer patients requiring radiation therapy will increase by 22 percent, while the number of full-time equivalent ...
There is an association between type 2 diabetes mellitus and colorectal cancer (CRC) among men, but not women, according to a new study in Gastroenterology, the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Institute.
In 2000, the prevalence of type 2 diabetes was approximately 171 million worldwide, and 366 million people are projected to have the disease by 2030. Obesity, western-style diet and lack of physical activity are established risk factors for CRC. Hyperglycemia and hyperinsulinemia, which are especially pronounced during the early ...
Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y. – Just as we visually map a room by spatially identifying the objects in it, we map our aural world based on the frequencies of sounds. The neurons within the brain's "hearing center"—the auditory cortex—are organized into modules that each respond to sounds within a specific frequency band. But how responses actually emanate from this complex network of neurons is still a mystery.
A team of scientists led by Anthony Zador, M.D., Ph.D., Professor and Chair of the Neuroscience program at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) has come a step closer ...
Fatalism may prevent women from Latin American descent – Latinas - from using cancer screening services, according to Karla Espinosa de los Monteros and Dr. Linda Gallo from San Diego State University in the US. Their review (1) shows that women who are pessimistic about preventive health practices and disease outcomes are less likely to have been screened for cervical, breast and colorectal cancer. The research is published online in Springer's International Journal of Behavioral Medicine.
Latinas have some of the lowest cancer screening rates in the United States. They ...
Mount Sinai researchers have discovered how cocaine corrupts the brain and becomes addictive. These findings—the first to connect activation of specific neurons to alterations in cocaine reward—were published in Science on October 15. The results may help researchers in developing new ways of treating those addicted to the drug.
Led by Mary Kay Lobo, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Neuroscience at Mount Sinai School of Medicine and first author of the study, researchers found that the two main neurons (D1 and D2) in the nucleus accumbens region of the brain, ...
