Could walking to work help fix our health woes?

Please note, this page has been archived and is no longer being updated.

Researchers from the College of Medicine at Swansea University will be asking businesses to encourage their workers to walk to work as part of a new £1 million trial which gets underway this month.

A total of 678 people from 84 workplaces in Swansea, Bath, and South Gloucestershire will be recruited to the new study, which is being undertaken by academics from Swansea, Bath and Bristol Universities and funded by the National Institute for Health Research.

The aim of the study is to look at the effectiveness of employers encouraging their staff to walk to work, and estimating the costs of developing and promoting walking schemes compared to the benefits of a more active workforce and a reduction in car use.

An estimated £17 billion may be saved by the NHS through a decline in cases of cancer, depression and dementia over the next 20 years if people begin to actively travel in England and Wales.

Encouraging adults in the UK to increase their level of physical activity is a major factor in helping to prevent chronic diseases including heart disease, obesity, type 2 diabetes and some cancers.

The NHS recommends that adults should take at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise each week.

The trial, led by Dr Suzanne Audrey from the University of Bristol with colleagues at the Universities of Bath and Swansea, will see half of the employers given help to encourage their employees to walk to work, while the other half continue as usual.

At the start of the trial, 678 people will be asked to wear a monitor that measures their level of physical activity for seven days. This will then be repeated a year later.

Global Positioning Systems (GPS) will track and record the amount of physical activity that takes place on the journey to work.

Everyone taking part will also be asked to complete travel diaries and questionnaires about the way they travel to work, the costs involved and their views about schemes that encourage people to walk. The information will show which factors encourage people to walk to work, and which can act as a barrier.      

Dr Sarah Rodgers, Associate Professor, College of Medicine, will be leading Swansea University’s part of the project. She said: “Helping people to achieve some walking as part of their daily commute has the potential to improve the health of many, particularly if there are existing safe and convenient routes” 

Dr Audrey, from the School of Social and Community Medicine at Bristol University, said: “There is evidence of a link between adult obesity levels and the way people commute to work. Walking to work is an ideal way for some adults to include moderate exercise in their daily routine and help them reach the recommended levels of weekly physical activity.”

Results of the study are expected in early 2018.

  • Further information about the project, titled “The effectiveness and cost effectiveness of an employer-led intervention to increase walking during the daily commute: Cluster randomised controlled trial” is available from the NIHR website.
  • The National Institute for Health Research Public Health Research (NIHR PHR) Programme was launched in autumn 2008. It commissions research to evaluate public health interventions, providing new knowledge on the benefits, costs, acceptability and wider effect of non-NHS interventions intended to improve the health of the public and reduce inequalities in health. The scope of the programme is multi-disciplinary and broad covering a range of public health interventions. The PHR Programme is funded by the NIHR, with contributions from the CSO in Scotland, NISCHR in Wales and the HSC R&D Division, Public Health Agency in Northern Ireland. 
  • Established in 2004, Swansea University’s College of Medicine is an internationally-recognised centre of excellence in medical research, education and innovation.  The College of Medicine delivers a comprehensive education and training portfolio, from undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in medicine and life sciences, to professional graduate training and research. It also works closely with its NHS partners in achieving excellence in teaching, research and clinical service. The College of Medicine is celebrating its 10th Anniversary in 2014.  Find out more about the history of the College of Medicine at http://www.scribd.com/doc/235047725/History-in-the-Making-College-of-Medicine-Swansea-University-10th-Anniversary-2004-2014.  Visit one of the UK’s fastest growing medical schools at http://www.medicine.swansea.ac.uk